Syrian Government Toppled By Rebels, President Assad Flees
The Syrian government has fallen follow increasing attacks by rebels. The government was toppled today, 8 December and according to the rebels, President Bashar Assad fled the country.
The rebels are reported to have swiftly advanced on the capital city, Damascus, in just one week. Following the announcement by the rebels, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali assured the country that the government was willing and ready to handover its functions to a transitional government.
President Assad had resisted the opposition since 2011 when the internal conflict started. The rebellion followed what is known as the the Arab Spring – a series of anti-government protests in the region which were supported by western countries and managed to oust leaders in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia since the early 2010s.
With the support of Russia and Iran, the Syrian regime managed to contain the uprising resulting in a 13 year protracted internal conflict. The rebels were supported by the USA and other western countries.
An estimated 600,000 people died in the civil war, half of them civilians. 12 million people are estimated to have been displaced from their homes with half of that number fleeing to become refugees abroad.
