After a 13-year civil war and over 50 years of brutal family rule, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has fled to Russia, leaving Syrians awakening with hope on Monday to revive their country.
According to a report by Geo News, the lightning advance of a militia alliance spearheaded by Hayat al-Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate, marked one of the most significant turning points for the Middle East in generations. Assad’s fall dismantled a bastion from which Iran and Russia exercised influence across the Arab world.
The report further states that Moscow has granted asylum to Assad and his family. Russian media confirmed this, citing Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, through his Telegram channel on Sunday.
International governments have welcomed the end of the Assads’ autocratic rule, including U.S. President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump, as they reassess a new Middle East landscape.
President Joe Biden remarked, “Syria is in a period of risk and uncertainty, and it is the first time in years that neither Russia, Iran, nor the Hezbollah organization holds an influential role there.” However, the United States and the United Nations still designate HTS as a terrorist group.
