The Assad regime ruled Syria for 50 years. Here’s how it fell in less than two weeks

At the historic Umayyad Mosque in the heart of Damascus, a red, white, black and green flag flies.

On the other side of the Syrian capital, former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s palace burns.

An anchor reads the Sunday news: “We announce to you from the Syrian news channel the victory of the great Syrian revolution after 13 years of patience and sacrifice.”

And on the streets, hundreds of people cheer, celebrating the stunning fall of 50 years of the Assad family’s dictatorship.

A fire burns in a room of the Tishrin residential palace of Syria’s ousted president Bashar al-Assad in Damascus’ al-Muhajirin area.

After less than two weeks of fighting across Syria’s northwest, rebel groups swiftly seized control of the capital. Their presence seemed to catch the regime off guard, forcing Assad to flee to Russia with his family.

“We are now the happiest country in the world,” one man told CNN on the road leading to Damascus on Sunday.

In a speech from the Umayyad Mosque on Sunday, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the leader of Syria’s main rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), called the toppling of Assad a “victory for the entire Islamic nation.”

“This is a nation that, if its rights are taken, will continue to demand them until they are restored,” Jolani said, adding that HTS was liberating people who were imprisoned by the Assad regime.

TOPSHOT – An anti-government fighter waves an Islamic flag from atop a tank in Damascus on December 9, 2024.

Their swift move into the capital astonished citizens and the rest of the world.

Here’s how the rebels’ ascent to power unfolded:

November 27: Rebel forces launch their first attack

Syrian rebel forces launched a large-scale attack on Assad’s forces in western Aleppo, the first sign of what was to come from their offensive and marking the first flare-up between the two sides in years.

At least 37 people were killed – both regime forces and allied militia – and rebels seized 13 villages, including the strategic towns of Urm al-Sughra and Anjara, as well as Base 46, the largest Syrian regime army base in western Aleppo, according to a statement by opposition factions at the time.

It was unclear then if the attacks meant anything more. Rebel groups said they were in response to recent artillery shelling from Assad’s regime.

But it quickly became clear that wasn’t the case. Three days later, the first city would fall.

November 30: Rebels take control of Aleppo city

Posters of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were destroyed as rebel forces swept across the country.

On November 30, the rebel groups conducted a lightning-fast offensive, killing dozens of government soldiers and taking control of Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city.

It was the first time they had set foot there since government forces regained control in 2016. By early morning, they had seized large parts of the city, footage geolocated by CNN revealed.

The Syrian army tacitly acknowledged its forces were in retreat, saying “large numbers of terrorists” had forced it to “implement a redeployment operation.” It said reinforcements were on their way and government forces were preparing for a “counteroffensive.”

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