Damascus, Syria – The autumn of the longstanding Assad regime that dominated Syria for greater than 50 years grew to become a worldwide turning level in 2024.
Syria’s warfare had light from the headlines however it resurfaced as a lightning offensive overthrew Bashar al-Assad and restored hope to many within the final month of the 12 months.
Firstly of 2024, the World Well being Group estimated that greater than 65 p.c of the inhabitants required humanitarian help.
An earthquake in February 2023 that devastated northern Syria had additional exacerbated the disaster with out spurring further worldwide assist.
Meals costs had doubled in 2024 in contrast with 2023, and the native forex had devalued to one-Fifteenth of its 2020 worth.
Israel attacked Syria in 2024, destroying whole buildings in Damascus and different provinces, concentrating on high-ranking Iranian and Hezbollah officers, and inflicting repeated shutdowns of Aleppo and Damascus airports.
Peaceable protests continued within the south and northwest of the nation, with activists in Sweida protesting in opposition to poor dwelling circumstances and calling for the autumn of the Assad regime.
Al-Assad’s regime and its allies continued to bombard opposition-held areas, killing and injuring civilians.
The persevering with risk from the regime within the northwest prompted Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and a coalition of armed opposition teams to launch “Operation Deterring Aggression” on November 27, making fast advances in western Aleppo and capturing the town inside two days.
The advance continued by way of southern Idlib, Hama, Deraa, and Homs till, on December 8, it reached Damascus as Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia.
Celebrations erupted throughout Syria, regardless of Israel benefiting from the scenario to strike safety websites and weapon depots and launch an incursion into Syria by creeping throughout the boundary line within the Golan Heights.
Because the HTS fighters superior, they threw open the doorways to al-Assad’s prisons, setting hundreds free and underlining the sheer quantity of people that have disappeared in his “human slaughterhouses”.
Efforts started to find some 130,000 prisoners and forcibly disappeared individuals, however as hundreds of households discovered, the search will be long and gruelling.
1000’s extra internally displaced individuals who needed to flee the nation hoped to return to their properties, however the destruction al-Assad wrought was so in depth that some folks could not even identify the place their properties had stood.
Uncertainty and worry of the long run stay prevalent amongst Syrians, however there’s a consensus that the long run holds promise in contrast with the previous.
Because the world transitions from one 12 months to the subsequent, Syrians transition from 1970 to 2025 as they put the al-Assad years behind them.