The Fall of Bashar al-Assad

Anisah Mahamoud, Co-Deputy Editor, BA International Relations (09/6/25)

For more than two decades, Bashar al-Assad ruled Syria with an iron fist, presiding over one of the most brutal conflicts of the 21st century. Once seen as a potential reformer, Assad’s reign instead became synonymous with repression, war crimes, and the suffering of millions. His eventual downfall in 2024 marked the end of an era that left Syria scarred and its people displaced, grieving, and desperate for a future beyond the spectre of dictatorship. Bashar al-Assad was never meant to rule. Born in 1965, he was the second son of Hafez al-Assad, the strongman who ruled Syria from 1971 until he died in 2000. Unlike his older brother, Bassel, who was being groomed for leadership, Bashar trained as an ophthalmologist in London. However, when Bassel died in a car crash in 1994, the course of Bashar’s life changed dramatically. Recalled to Syria, he was thrust into military training and political grooming under his father’s watchful eye.

When Hafez al-Assad died in June 2000, the Syrian parliament quickly amended the constitution to lower the minimum age for the presi dency, allowing the 34-year-old Bashar to assume power unop posed. To some, the young leader seemed a stark contrast to his father, a doctor with a Western education, potentially open to reform. These hopes, however, were short-lived.

Assad’s early years in power saw a brief period of political openness, later dubbed the ‘Damascus Spring.’ Political forums flourished and calls for reform gained momentum. But by 2001, it became clear that any aspira tions for democracy would be crushed. Assad’s government shut down activist meetings, imprisoned dissidents and reinforced the regime’s control over the media; his early promises of reform were a mirage. In the years that followed, Assad consolidated his rule, deepening his reliance on Syria’s feared intelligence services and military elite. Political opposition was silenced, and economic reforms primarily benefited the elite while many Syrians saw little improvement in their daily lives.

Then, in 2011, everything changed. As the Arab Spring swept through the Middle East, Syrians took to the streets in peaceful protests, demanding political reform. Inspired by movements in Tunisia and Egypt, demonstrators gathered in cities across the country, chanting for freedom and an end to decades of autocratic rule.

The regime’s response was brutal. Security forces fired on unarmed protesters, with reports of mass arrests, torture, and disappearances. The violence escalated, and by mid-2011, Syria was spiralling into civil war. What began as an uprising soon fractured into a complex, multifaceted conflict, with Assad’s forces waging war against opposition groups, with a large Islamist component, and later, international actors.

The cost of Assad’s war on his own people was stagger ing. Between 2011 and 2024, more than 600,000 people were killed, with the vast majority of civilian deaths being attributed to government forces. Cities like Aleppo, Homs, and Raqqa were reduced to rubble, their once-thriving neighbourhoods turned into ghostly warzones.

The situation in Syria quickly became one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Over 13 million Syrians - more than half the country’s pre-war population - were forced to flee their homes. Refugee camps in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan swelled beyond capacity, while mil lions attempted the perilous journey to Europe. Those who remained faced constant bombardment, starvation sieges, and the ever-present threat of arrest and torture.

International watchdogs documented war crimes on an unprecedented scale. The Assad regime was repeatedly accused of deploying chemical weapons, including the infamous alleged 2013 sarin gas attack in Ghouta that killed over 1,000 civilians. Secret prisons run by Assad’s security apparatus became sites of mass executions and systematic torture. The infamous ‘Caesar Files,’ smuggled out by a defected military photographer in 2014, exposed tens of thousands of photographs of tortured and executed detainees, painting a harrowing picture of state-sponsored brutality.

The world condemned Assad’s actions, but international intervention remained limited. While Western nations imposed economic sanctions and supported opposition groups, Russia and Iran provided crucial military and financial support to the regime. In 2015, Russia launched a direct military intervention, helping Assad reclaim key territories and tip the balance of the war in his favour.

Despite years of diplomatic efforts, UN peace talks failed to bring an end to the conflict. Syria became a battleground for regional and global powers, with Turkey, the US, Iran, and Russia all vying for influence. The war dragged on, and with each passing year, Assad’s grip on power, though fragile, remained intact until 2024.

By early 2024, Syria was teetering on the edge. A renewed offensive by opposition forces, bolstered by increasing defections within the military, placed unprecedented pressure on the regime. Anti-Assad protests erupted even in government-held areas, fuelled by economic collapse, food shortages, and public exhaustion after 13 years of war.

In November 2024, opposition forces led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham - a ‘moderate’ Islamist militia - launched a decisive assault, capturing key cities, including Aleppo and Homs. Damascus, once an impenetrable fortress for Assad, became the final battleground. As rebel fighters advanced, it became clear that Assad’s time was up.

On 8 December 2024, Bashar al-Assad fled Syria, boarding a Russian military plane to Moscow, where he was granted asylum. His departure marked the end of over five decades of Assad family rule, leaving behind a shattered nation.

With Assad gone, Syria faces an uncertain future. The power vacuum left behind threatens further instability, with rebel factions and international actors vying for control. The scars of war, both physical and psychological run deep, and rebuilding the country will take generations.

For the Syrian people, Assad’s departure is both a victory and a painful reminder of what was lost. Millions remain displaced and the memories of war crimes linger. Justice remains elusive, and the world watches as Syria takes its first steps beyond dictatorship, towards an uncertain, but long awaited, new chapter. Bashar al-Assad’s rule was defined by violence, repression, and the suffering of millions. His downfall in 2024 closed a dark chapter in Syrian history, but the wounds he inflicted will take decades to heal. Whether Syria can emerge from the ashes of war into a brighter future remains to be seen but for now, the shadow of Assad’s legacy looms large over the land he left behind.