Bashar Al-Assad, The Ousted President Who Ignited Syrian Civil War And Oversaw 500,000 Killings

Last Updated:December 09, 2024, 00:17 IST

Syria was thrown into a civil war by President Bashar Al-Assad as he led a bloody crackdown on the peaceful protestors in 2011. Assad fled the country on Sunday, as a result of rebels storming Damascus.

Syrian Regime Falls: Ousted Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad fled the country on Sunday as the rebels entered the capital city of Damascus, ending not only his 24-year rule but also leading to the downfall of his clan’s five-decade reign in the country.

In his over two-decade rule, Assad cracked down on a pro-democracy revolution that led to one of the bloodiest civil wars in the 21st century.

His reign came to an end with his departure from the country and the announcement by Prime Minister Mohammed al-Jalali to hand over the power to the people of Syria.

Who Is Bashar Al-Assad?

1. Assad relied on his alliances with Russia, Iran, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah for years to remain in power. He faced nationwide protests and armed rebellion demanding his removal from power. He crushed all of it with an iron fist to take control back of much of Syria in the civil war that broke out in 2011.
2. He led a merciless war of survival for his rule and presented himself in front of the people in the country and the outside world as though he was Syria’s only option to counter the Islamist threat. However, an Islamist-led rebel offensive began on November 27 and continued until taking control over the capital city.
3. Assad portrayed himself as the protector of Syria’s minorities, a wall against extremism and the only person capable of providing stability to a country torn by war.
4. There were several votes held over the years only on government-held territory and he won majority of the ballots. The Western countries raised alarms that the elections were neither free nor fair.
5. He is the son of Hafez al-Assad who ruled Syria for nearly three decades until his death in 2000. Hafez, who was the head of the Syrian Baath Party, brought upon the people of the country a regime where the slightest suspicion of dissent was sufficient to land one in jail or even worse. He possesses the same qualities as his father.
6. Bashar was not in line to take over as the President, however, he had to fall in line to take over the post after his older brother Bassel, who was expected to inherit power, died in a road accident in 1994.
7. Bashar dropped his studies in ophthalmology in London and left the city where he had met his wife Asma, a British-Syrian and Sunni Muslim. Upon his return to Syria, he undertook a military studies course and was tutored in politics by his father.
8. After his father’s death, Bashar took over as president by referendum, running unopposed. He won a second term in 2007. He took charge of the office at the age of 34 and was earlier seen as a reformer by Syrians, who could end the repression and bring about some economic liberalisation.
9. However, his initial image as a reformer did not last long after the authorities jailed academics, intellectuals, and other members of the Damascus Spring movement. When the Arab Spring arrived in Syria in March 2011, peaceful protests erupted that called for a change.
10. Assad, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, ordered a brutal crackdown on the protestors which led to a civil war in the country that killed over 5,00,000 people and left half the population displaced. His stance on the crackdown on the protestors did not change as he justified the bombings and military actions as a war on “terrorists”.
11. Assad maintained his stance throughout his regime that the conflict in Syria was orchestrated from abroad. “The terrorist escalation reflects the far-reaching goals of dividing the region and fragmenting the countries in it and (to) redraw the map in line with the objectives of the United States and the West,” Assad said on Monday.

Location :

Damascus, Syria