How Syrian rebels overthrew the Assad regime in just over a week

Published

4 weeks ago

December 9, 2024

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Seizing military bases, toppling regime statues, freeing prisoners and capturing major cities – this is just a fraction of what Syrian rebel forces have achieved in just over a week.

Sky News has tracked the shock offensive that has ousted President Bashar al Assad, using over 60 geolocated videos that show how they advanced through major cities and captured the capital Damascus.

While Assad, who has now left the country, had earlier vowed to “crush” the offensive, visual evidence shows how quickly his regime has fallen.

This is how the offensive unfolded.

Until just over a week ago, Assad’s Russian-backed forces controlled much of Syria.

Now the opposition groups – led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) – a former al Qaeda affiliate previously known as the Nusra Front – have captured three of Syria’s major cities including its capital and ousted the regime.

The fall of Aleppo

Rebels began the surprise offensive from the northern province of Idlib before attacking areas to the north and northwest of Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city which has been under Assad’s control since 2016.

In the space of just three days, rebels pushed out government forces. Footage from 29 November shows lines of students evacuating from the University of Aleppo as opposition forces closed in.

Later that day, just two kilometres south of the university, HTS members filmed themselves at a statue of Assad’s deceased brother, taking down the regime flag.

The next day, Syria’s military announced a withdrawal from the city – Aleppo fell to the rebels.

Assad forces attempted defence

After defeat in Aleppo, Assad’s forces attempted to defend other cities and towns. They headed to Hama, a city 120km south of Aleppo – where geolocated videos posted on 30 November show a line of tanks as Assad’s forces awaited the rebels.

These are among the few videos which show efforts by regime forces during the offensive.

On 2 December, Russian and Syrian jets struck the rebel-held city of Idlib in the north, which for years had been the last anti-regime stronghold in Syria.

Videos show the aftermath of a deadly attack near Idlib University Hospital; the strikes that day killed at least 25 people.

Rebels move to Hama

Next, the rebels moved towards Hama city, 120km south of Aleppo. We verified footage taken on 3 December showing opposition forces in Al Amqiyah and Halfaya, a village and a town in the Hama governorate.

On 4 December, the rebels posted videos of a military base they’d seized in the Hama province signalling that they were not only able to take large cities, but also to seize key military sites. Taken from inside a vehicle, the footage shows the empty base – with regime forces nowhere to be seen.

The next day, on 5 December, rebels captured Hama city – the provincial capital – as the military withdrew its troops marking the seizure of a second major city and a significant setback for the regime.

Footage posted by rebels on 5 December shows prisoners being freed from the notorious Hama prison, as family members and friends hugged each other as they were reunited.

Rebels capture Homs

With Aleppo and Hama now under rebel-control, opposition forces made their way to Homs a city in western Syria – under 50km south of Hama and around 150km south of Aleppo.

Homs sits on a major crossroad, linking Damascus to the north and Syria’s Mediterranean coast provinces of Latakia and Tartus, where the majority back Mr Assad and home to a Russian naval base and air base.

On the evening of 5 December, videos emerged of hundreds of people attempting to flee Homs as the rebels drew closer. Footage shows long queues of cars stuck in traffic as people tried to leave the city and head west.

The next day, the rebels are seen in a number of villages within a 10km radius of Homs. We geolocated footage of anti-Assad convoys advancing through the towns of Talbiseh and Ter Maela and greeted by civilians – showing just how close they were to the major city.

While the world’s attention was mostly focused on rebel advances heading south from Aleppo and Hama, the regime’s hold over territory in the east and south of the country was also deteriorating.

By 6 December, we geolocated footage that showed the rebels had taken Deir el-Zor, a major city on the eastern fringes of the regime’s territory. The same day, several locations were captured in Daraa Governate, putting new pressure on Damascus from the south.

Then, the next day, on 7 December, the rebels declared they’d captured Homs.

Regime’s last stand

Finally, the opposition forces moved around 130km south to Damascus – home to the presidential palace.

From here little resistance against the rebels was seen. Videos from 8 December show Syrians walking inside the Muhajireen Presidential Palace while other videos show posters of Assad being ripped from a hospital.

Celebrations have continued on the streets of the city as other videos show people leaving Damascus’s ministry of finance with bags.

Russia, one of Assad’s key allies, said the Syrian president has left office and Syria after giving orders for there to be a peaceful transfer of power.

Mr Assad has since arrived in Moscow with his family, a Kremlin source told Russia’s state-run TASS news agency.

While many did not anticipate the scale and speed of the rebel offensive in Syria and many questions remain over the political future of the country, this offensive marks the end of a 54-year Assad rule in Syria.

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Myanmar frees more than 6,000 prisoners as country marks anniversary of independence from Britain

Published

13 hours ago

January 4, 2025

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Myanmar frees more than 6,000 prisoners as country marks anniversary of independence from Britain

More than 6,000 prisoners have been released in Myanmar as part of an amnesty to mark the 77th anniversary of the country’s independence from Britain.

The head of Myanmar’s military government has granted amnesties for 5,864 prisoners from the Southeast Asian country, as well as 180 foreigners who will now be deported, state-run media said.

The freed inmates included just a small proportion of hundreds of political detainees locked up for opposing army rule since the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Myanmar’s military takeover in February 2021 was met with a huge nonviolent resistance, which has since developed into a widespread armed struggle.

The freeing of prisoners began on Saturday and in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, buses took detainees out of the Insein Prison. Many were met by loved ones who eagerly held up signs with their names.

If the freed inmates break the law again, they will have to serve the remainder of their sentences alongside any new ones, the terms of release state.

In another report, MRTV television said government leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has also reduced the life sentences of 144 prisoners to 15 years.

All other inmates’ sentences have been reduced by one sixth, apart from those convicted under the Explosive Substances Act, the Unlawful Associations Act, the Arms Act and the Counterterrorism Law – all laws which are often used against opponents of military rule.

According to rights organisation the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, 28,096 people have been arrested on political charges since the army takeover, and 21,499 of those remained in jail as of Friday.

Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for the military government, told journalists those released include about 600 people prosecuted under a law which makes it a crime to spread comments that create public unrest or fear, or spread false news.

There has been no suggestion the releases include that of Myanmar’s former leader Suu Kyi, who – now aged 79 – is serving a 27-year sentence after being prosecuted for a number of politically-tinged charges.

Most of the foreigners being freed are Thai people arrested for gambling in a border town, the spokesperson added.

It is not uncommon for Myanmar to mark holidays and significant occasions with prisoner releases.

The country became a British colony in the late 1800s and regained independence on 4 January 1948.

World

Elon Musk could act as middleman between China and Trump in possible global trade war

Published

14 hours ago

January 4, 2025

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Elon Musk could act as middleman between China and Trump in possible global trade war

Drive an hour outside China’s commercial capital Shanghai, and you’ll reach Elon Musk’s Tesla gigafactory.

It manufactures almost one million Tesla cars a year and produces more than half of all its cars worldwide.

But with US president-elect Donald Trump preparing to move into the White House, the relationship between his new buddy Elon Musk and the leadership of China‘s Communist Party is in sharp focus.

Shanghai has been the key to Tesla’s success, largely thanks to the city’s former Communist Party secretary, now China’s premier, Li Qiang.

Chief executive of Shanghai-based Auto Mobility Limited, Bill Russo, says: “Qiang is China’s number two person. His position in Shanghai made everything possible for Tesla.”

He added: “In 2017, China adjusted its policy guidelines for the automotive industry to allow foreign companies to own their factories in China.

“Tesla signed its deal in 2018, broke ground in 2019, and started producing the Model 3 in 2020.”

The factory opened at breakneck speak and in record time.

In April, Musk met Qiang in Beijing, later posting on X: “Honoured to meet with Premier Li Qiang. We have known each other now for many years, since early Shanghai days.”

The Musk-China ties go all the way to the top.

When China’s President Xi Jinping visited the US in November 2023 he met Musk, who posted: “May there be prosperity for all” – echoing the language often used by China’s government.

Musk has previously weighed into the debate over the status of Taiwan. Two years ago, he suggested tensions could be eased by giving China some control over Taiwan.

This comment incensed Taiwan’s leaders.

Chinese commentator Einar Tangen, from the Taihe Institute in Beijing, says: “If Musk had said anything else, he could face action against the Shanghai plants. He’s not going to endanger that. He’s playing both sides for his own advantage.”

What’s in it for China?

Musk needs China, and in the months to come, China may need Musk.

He could act as a well-connected middleman between the Chinese Communist Party and Trump, in the face of a potential global trade war.

“Like it or not, we are living in a world where China is the dominant player in the race to an electric future,” says Russo.

Musk pioneered the EV industry in China, but is now struggling to compete with local car brands like BYD and Nio.

The relationship between Musk and Trump could become volatile, but for now, Musk stands to benefit.

“Donald Trump has never had a problem giving exceptions to friends,” Tangen says.

“It fits his personality, that he can grant pardons and give favours to the people and companies he chooses.”

Musk ‘the pioneer’

Musk is well regarded as a pioneer in China and most people speak of him highly.

Strolling along the Bund waterfront area in Shanghai, Benton Tang says: “Tesla really impacted the entire industry here.

“It pushed people to develop and improve the quality, the design and especially the price.”

Interest in the Musk family has also gripped China’s online community.

His mother, Maye Musk, frequently visits the country, where she has a huge social media following as a senior-age celebrity fashion icon and endorses several Chinese products including a mattress brand.

Her book, A Woman Makes A Plan, has been translated into Chinese and is a bestseller here.

Meanwhile, as the countdown to Trump’s inauguration gains pace, the spotlight on the president-elect’s coterie of advisers intensifies.

In the middle of the glare is Elon Musk.

China waits to see what that will mean for them.

World

Did New Orleans authorities fail the victims of the New Year terror attack?

Published

14 hours ago

January 4, 2025

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Did New Orleans authorities fail the victims of the New Year terror attack?

Did the authorities fail the victims of the New Orleans terror attack? It’s barely in question, surely.

And yet, consider the response of Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick of New Orleans police when I asked if she’d let them down by not having an appropriate security plan.

“That’s not correct, we would disagree with that.”

“It has to be a security failure?” I suggested.

“We do know that people have lost their lives,” she responded. “But if you were experienced with terrorism, you would not be asking that question.”

With that, she was escorted away from gathered journalists by her media handlers.

Superintendent Kirkpatrick had been holding a short news conference at the end of Bourbon Street to herald its re-opening. It was just yards from the spot where a terrorist was able to drive through a gap in a makeshift line of obstructions and accelerate towards New Year crowds.

Invoking “experience with terrorism” is something to ponder. What experience told authorities they had adequate protection against a vehicle attack?

What experience told them it was appropriate to have a car’s width gap in makeshift street barricades?

What experience told them to contradict the security protocols of major cities around the world when it comes to large public gatherings?

To many, the answer shouldn’t be talk of experience – it should be, simply: “Sorry.” Notably, it has seemed to be the hardest word in a series of briefings by authorities who have bristled at the notion of security failings.

I asked Jack Bech for his view. He lost his brother Martin, or ‘Tiger’ in the Bourbon Street attack. He told Sky News he watched the final moments of his brother’s life on a FaceTime call to an emergency room as doctors tried, but failed, to save him.

It’s one heartbreaking story among dozens in this city.

On security, he said: “You can’t blame them. That dude easily could have been walking through the crowd with a jacket on and a bomb strapped to his chest.”

True. But the least that might be expected is an acknowledgement of failure to stop the man who drove his weapon into the crowd because he was able to. They certainly can’t claim success.

A measure of contrition would, perhaps, help the healing in this city. Experience should tell them that, if nothing else.