Explained: What led to Bashar al-Assad's downfall in Syria?

Five decades of the Assad family dominance in Syria came to an end on Sunday, as the rebel alliance arrived in Damascus in just over a week. The success of the lightning advance was primarily because Syria’s army was worn out and demotivated; the Syrian leader’s key allies, Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, were badly weakened by the war with Israel; and Russia, his other major military backer, was disinterested and distracted Demonstrators wear face masks depicting Syrian president Bashar Assad during a spontaneous rally in Wuppertal, Germany, Sunday, December 8, 2024, following the fall of Assad’s government. “After they lost Aleppo like that, regime forces never recovered and the more the rebels advanced, the weaker Assad’s army got,” he told Reuters. An image of Syrian President Bashar Assad, riddled with bullets, is seen on the facade of the provincial government office in the aftermath of the opposition’s takeover of Hama, Syria, Friday. Nick Heras, an analyst at the New Lines Institute, told AFP before rebels took Damascus that “ultimately, the Assad government’s ability to survive will depend on the extent to which Iran and Russia see Assad as useful to their strategies in the region.” “If either or both of those allies decide they can advance their interests without Assad, then his days in power are numbered,” he added.