Bashar al-Assad, popularly known as Assad, over the weekend, succumbed to pressure and fled his country leaving his country Syria in the hands of rebels.
This brought to an end a regime people have termed as dictatorial over the years.
Assad and his family are in Russia, where they have been given asylum
Assad came to power in 2000 after the death of his father Hafez, who ruled the country for 29 years with an iron fist. With the help of Russia and Iran. He crushed the rebels and survived.
However, when the rebels started their campaign a few weeks ago, these allies could not be of much help as they were preoccupied with the war in their own countries.
The rebels, led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) first seized Aleppo, the country's second-largest city.
They then captured Hama, and days later, the key hub of Homs.
Other Rebels who were also advancing from the east and the south, the offensive isolated Damascus, the capital, which they would then capture in a matter of hours.
While the Assad regime felt like it had gained control of the country, most parts remained under the control of the rebels, and after four years of what seemed like the civil war had ended, on November 27, 2024, HTS and its allies launched their surprise offensive.
The group accused the Assad regime of attacks on civilians. It is led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The Islamist militant group HTS that led the offensive against Assad was set up in 2012 under the name, al-Nusra Front.
It pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda the following year and was seen as one of the most effective and deadly groups fighting President Assad.
It would later break ties with al-Qaeda in 2016, adopting the name Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, after merging with other allied factions a year later.
HTS consolidated its power in Idlib and Aleppo provinces by crushing its rivals, including al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS) group cells.
It set up the so-called Syrian Salvation Government to administer the territory according to Islamic law.
It all started in March 2011, when pro-democracy demonstrations erupted in the southern city of Deraa, inspired by uprisings in neighbouring countries against repressive rulers.
The Syrian government used deadly force to crush the dissent, and protests demanding the president's resignation erupted nationwide.
The unrest spread and the crackdown intensified.
Opposition supporters took up arms, first to defend themselves and later to rid their areas of security forces.
Hundreds of rebel groups sprang up, foreign powers began to take sides and extremist jihadist organisations such as the Islamic State (IS) group and al-Qaeda, became involved.
The violence rapidly escalated and the country descended into a full-scale civil war drawing in regional and world powers.
More than half a million people have been killed and 12 million have been forced to flee their homes.
