Its been three days since Syrian rebels ended Bashar al-Assad’s rule in the country. The rebels led by Hayat Tahrir-al Sham (HTS) stormed Damascus on Sunday to capture power.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said there were signs of hope in Syria following the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad by rebel forces.
“As we speak, we are witnessing the reshaping of the Middle East … We also see some signs of hope, and signs of hope, namely coming from the end of the Syrian dictatorship,” Reuters quoted Guterres as saying during a visit to South Africa.
A lot has happened since curtains were drawn on the five decades long rule of the Assad family. Here are a few updates:
What’s happening in Syria since the end of the Bashar Al Assad regime?
According to a report by the news agency AFP, the tomb of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s father Hafez Al Assad was torched on Wednesday in his hometown of Qardaha, with rebel fighters in fatigues and young men watching it burn.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor told AFP the rebels had set fire to the mausoleum, located in the Latakia heartland of Assad’s Alawite community.
According to the report, parts of the mausoleum were set ablaze and damaged, with the tomb of Hafez torched and destroyed.
The vast elevated structure atop a hill has an intricate architectural design with several arches, its exterior embellished with ornamentation etched in stone.
It also houses the tombs of other Assad family members, including Bashar’s brother Bassel, who was being groomed to inherit power before he was killed in a road accident in 1994.
On Sunday, a lightning offensive by Islamist-led rebels seized key cities before reaching Damascus and forcing Assad to flee, ending more than 50 years of his family’s rule.
Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al Jalali said that the government was ready to cooperate with the opposition and hand over governance. Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, the outfit that spearheaded the offensive, leader Abu Mohammad Al Golani said that the new regime will not pardon anyone involved in torturing and killing of detainees.
Bashar Al Assad has taken refuge in Russia along with his family after fleeing just before the rebels took over Damascus. On the other hand, the US brokered a ceasefire deal between the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces and the Turkish-backed rebels in the city of Manbij.
The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading back to the Middle East as the Biden administration tries to shape the unfolding chaos in Syria before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Blinken is scheduled to depart Washington for the region on Wednesday, just days after a surprisingly rapid rebel advance across Syria ousted the brutal dictator Bashar Al-Assad from the capital Damascus.
The trip is his 12th to the region since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in late 2023, and will begin in Jordan and continue in Turkey, two key allies that both have long borders with Syria.
“The Secretary will reiterate the United States’ support for an inclusive, Syrian-led transition to an accountable and representative government,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement on Wednesday morning.
