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Published: December 8, 2024 4.56pm GMT

End of a half-century of family rule.

A damaged portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hangs in the Syrian city of Qamishli. Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images

Author

1. Sefa Secen Assistant Professor of International and Global Studies, Nazareth University

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Sefa Secen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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The brutal 54-year reign of the Assad family in Syria looks to be over.

In a matter of days, opposition forces took the major city of Aleppo before advancing southward into other government-controlled areas of Hama, Homs and finally, on Dec 7, 2024, the capital, Damascus.

Continue reading Assad leaves behind a fragmented nation – stabilizing Syria will be a major challenge for fractured opposition and external backers →