BBCIn simply two weeks, Syrian rebels left their enclave within the northwest to seize a string of main cities, earlier than reaching the capital Damascus and toppling President Bashar al-Assad, 13 years after the beginning of the nation’s civil conflict. village.
In convoys of small automobiles and bikes, fighters led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) insurgent group moved rapidly alongside the north-south freeway that varieties the nation’s important spine to take Damascus with out resistance.
But whereas many within the nation have a good time the autumn of a household dynasty that dominated Syria with an iron fist, the long run is unsure and the scenario on the bottom stays in flux, with totally different insurgent teams controlling totally different elements of the nation.
Who controls which territory in Syria?
The fall of the Assad regime was caused by the sudden and surprising advance of the HTS rebels who, though they management the principle cities of Syria, don’t govern your entire nation.
Syria has for years been managed by a patchwork of insurgent teams, together with HTS in Idlib and Kurdish-led teams within the nation’s northeast, a few of which have additionally seized territory in current days and weeks.
None of the insurgent teams will mourn the autumn of the Assad regime, however discovering a consensus on the right way to govern the nation should show troublesome and there have been clashes between competing factions within the north of the nation.
How did the rebels attain Damascus?
After years cooped up on frozen entrance strains, the rebels made a meteoric advance, culminating within the fall of the president and the taking of management of the capital on the weekend.
After capturing Aleppo, Syria’s second metropolis, in late November, the rebels continued their offensive, transferring south to take management of the town of Hama final Thursday.
The advance continued apace and on Saturday the rebels overran Syria’s third-largest metropolis, Homs, assembly little resistance and pushing straight in the direction of the capital Damascus.
On Monday morning it was confirmed that President Assad had left the nation, with Russian information sources reporting that he had been granted asylum in Russia.
Map: Where is Syria and the way are its neighbors concerned?
Syria, with a inhabitants of about 22 million individuals, is positioned on the japanese coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Turkey to the north, Lebanon and Israel to the west and southwest, Iraq to the east and Jordan to the south.
Turkey, Western powers, and a number of other Gulf Arab states have supported numerous parts of the Syrian opposition to various levels through the battle.
The Iran-backed Lebanon-based Hezbollah motion fought alongside the Syrian regime’s military however was severely weakened by the battle with Israel. This was seen as a significant purpose why the insurgent advance was so profitable.
Israel, involved by what it calls Iran’s “navy entrenchment” in Syria, has launched air strikes towards the Syrian military.
How did Israel reply?
Israeli warplanes have reportedly carried out a whole lot of airstrikes throughout Syria, concentrating on Syrian Army navy services, together with weapons warehouses, ammunition depots, airports, naval bases and analysis facilities.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) says it has documented greater than 350 assaults carried out by Israel because the fall of the Assad regime on Sunday, together with on the capital Damascus, Aleppo and Hama.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claims to have destroyed round 80% of the Assad regime’s navy capabilities, though that determine has not been independently verified.
Israel says its actions are aimed toward stopping weapons from falling “into the palms of extremists” as Syria transitions into the post-Assad period.
Even Israel says sure they temporarily took control of a demilitarized buffer zone on the Golan Heights, claiming that the 1974 disengagement settlement with Syria had “collapsed” as rebels took management of the nation.
The Golan Heights is a rocky plateau about 60 km (40 miles) southwest of Damascus.
Israel seized territory from Syria within the closing levels of the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it unilaterally in 1981. The transfer was not acknowledged internationally, though the United States did so unilaterally in 2019.
What is going on in northern Syria?
In the northern city of Manbij there have been clashes between Turkish-backed forces and Kurdish-led rebels.
Both sides stated they’d taken elements of the town and combating was stated to be ongoing in some neighborhoods.
The Euphrates River serves as a dividing line between territory managed by Turkish-backed teams within the west and Kurdish-led forces within the east.
Russian bases in Syria
In 2015, Russia despatched 1000’s of troops to Syria to assist maintain President Assad in energy.
In change for this navy help, Russia was granted 49-year leases on two key navy bases.
The port of Tartous is Russia’s solely main abroad naval base and in addition its solely naval base within the Mediterranean.
Along with Hmeimim Air Base, which is usually used to fly Russian navy contractors out and in of Africa, the 2 bases play an necessary function in Russia’s capability to function as a world energy.
The Kremlin has stated it is going to focus on the way forward for each websites with the brand new Syrian administration.
Meanwhile, the Russian ships have left the port and are anchored simply off the coast.
