Two seismic weeks that toppled Syria’s government – Chicago Tribune
Good morning, Chicago.
Half a century of rule by the Assad family in Syria crumbled with astonishing speed after insurgents burst out of a rebel-held enclave and converged on the capital, Damascus, taking city after city in a matter of days.
Opposition forces swept across the country and entered Damascus with little or no resistance as the Syrian army melted away. President Bashar Assad, Syria’s ruler for 24 years — succeeding his father, Hafez Assad — fled the country. Russian state media reported that he was in Moscow.
It’s a stunning development in Syria’s devastating 13-year conflict. Anti-government protests in 2011 met with a brutal crackdown, escalating into a civil war that has killed more than half a million people and displaced half of Syria’s prewar population of 23 million. Assad, backed by Iran and Russia, gradually regained control of more than two-thirds of Syria, leaving the rebels with one stronghold in the northwest of the country.
There the conflict remained, largely frozen, for years until late November. Here’s a look at a seismic two weeks for the Middle East.
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