Syria Civil War:  The rebels in Syria have now taken control of the capital Damascus. Sunday proved to be a historic day in the history of the country. President Bashar Al Assad's rule ended. Before the coup, there were discussions all over Syria about Bashar's family, his influence and his wealth. If we talk about wealth, then in this matter many great personalities are behind Bashar.

The architect of modern Syria, Hafez al-Assad, came to power through a coup on November 13, 1970. Hafez rose to prominence as an Alawite commander at a time when Syria was plagued by political instability and frequent coups. The Assad family, which hails from the Alawite sect of Islam, began its rule in Sunni-dominated Syria in 1970 under Bashar al-Assad's father Hafez al-Assad.

'Divide and rule'

His divide-and-rule strategy, exploiting Syria's ethnic and religious divisions, helped him consolidate power. Hafez elevated the traditionally marginalised Alawite minority to key positions in the military and government, ensuring their loyalty and strengthening his control.

Bashar al-Assad inherited the regime

After Hafez's death in 2000, his son Bashar, an eye doctor, assumed the presidency. Bashar al-Assad was an eye doctor and studied medicine in London and later married Asma, a British-Syrian girl, an investment banker working for JP Morgan. She is believed to have played an important role in shaping Bashar's image as a liberal reformer.

There were initial hopes that Bashar would bring reform, but these hopes quickly faded as he inherited his father's authoritarian system. His early attempts to replace his father's allies with his own loyalists alienated him from Syria's rural population, further weakening state institutions.

syria civil war

Bashar al-Assad's repressive tactics, first evident during his father's brutal crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood in 1982, continued when peaceful protests broke out across Syria in 2011. The government's violent response to these protests escalated into a full-scale civil war. With the support of Russia, Iran, and Iranian-backed militias, Assad's government gained control of several major cities.