SUMMARY
After 50 years of rule the Assad regime was overthrown in Syria. People poured onto the streets celebrating while the President fled the country. Here is everything that has happened in Syria since the last 10 days.
1 / 6Syria’s economy collapsed, allegedly supported in significant part by the illegal trade in the hallucinogenic drug Captagon. (Image: REUTERS)
2 / 6Police and soldiers were leaving their positions, turning in their weapons, and abandoning their posts before the opposition onslaught. (Image: REUTERS)
3 / 6The al-Assad government has also been militarily feeble for years, depending on Iranian and Russian military assistance to maintain its hold. (Image: REUTERS)
4 / 6The rebels used a vacuum left by a weakened Assad government, whose key allies are engaged in other disputes. Russia and Iran were both caught up in their own conflicts – Russia in Ukraine, Iran and its proxies in their 14-month conflict with Israel. (Image: REUTERS)
5 / 6Israeli forces have for months been launching airstrikes on Syria, killing Iranian and its proxies’ commanders, while bombing facilities linked to Iran and creative Hezbollah. (Image: REUTERS)
6 / 6What comes next: Multiple rebel groups control parts of the country, risking further civil war. HTS, led by ex-al-Qaeda affiliate al-Jolani with a $10mn US bounty, creates dilemmas for Western powers. Internal rebel clashes and Islamist dominance raise fears of a chaotic, fragile state. (Image: REUTERS)
