Author: Rasmita Jena

For over 50 years, Syria’s Baath Party, led by the Assad family, ruled the country with fear and violence. This changed dramatically when rebels attacked and captured Damascus. In 2011, President Bashar al-Assad reacted to peaceful protests by using force, just like his father Hafez had done before him.

The Baath Party, which means “resurrection” in Arabic, was created in 1947 by two educated Syrians, Michel Aflaq and Salah Bitar. It aimed to unite Arab nations. The party grew popular after merging with the Arab Socialist Party. In 1963, a military coup put the Baath Party in power, and a few years later, Hafez al-Assad took control, pushing out the party’s founders.

Hafez al-Assad cemented his power in 1970, becoming the head of state and ruling until his death in 2000. A new constitution made the Baath Party the leader of the country. For 30 years, political opposition was not allowed, and protests were banned. In 1982, the government violently suppressed a revolt by the Muslim Brotherhood, killing thousands of people in a hidden massacre.

In this system, Hafez and his son Bashar were both ‘elected’ with more than 90% of the vote, even though there was no real competition. When Hafez died, Bashar was too young to be president, so they changed the rules to allow him to take over—a move many saw as making a hereditary monarchy.

The Assads belong to the Alawite minority, a branch of Shiite Islam in a mostly Sunni country. As the 2011 Arab Spring spread to Syria, it became a serious challenge for the Assads. Bashar promised change but responded with violence against protestors. Although the government held a referendum for a new constitution in 2012, the violence escalated into a civil war, causing the deaths of over half a million people and displacing millions.

Recently, Islamist rebels took control of Damascus after a fast attack, signaling an end to the Assad family’s long and oppressive rule and a hope for a new beginning for Syria.

Pope Francis had a noticeable bruise on his chin over the weekend. He got the bruise after accidentally bumping his chin on a bedside table. Despite this, the Pope continued with a big event at St. Peter’s Basilica where he welcomed 21 new cardinals into the church.

The 88-year-old Pope looked a bit tired but managed to carry on with the ceremony. He has had some health issues lately and uses a wheelchair because of knee and back pain. In 2017, he also had a black eye when he hit his head on his popemobile during a trip to Colombia.

The story of Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria came to an end after a long and hard-fought struggle that lasted almost 14 years. This conflict caused the deaths of many people and forced countless others to leave their homes. Here’s a simple timeline of what happened:

2011: Protests began as people wanted change in Assad’s government. Instead of listening, security forces arrested and shot many protesters. Some of these protesters took up arms, and some soldiers switched sides, making the fight turn into an armed rebellion with support from various countries.

2012: A group linked to al-Qaeda, called the Nusra Front, started its first big attack in Damascus. This group became stronger and started pushing out other groups that wanted freedom. While world leaders talked about how to help, they disagreed on the best way to do it which made it hard to find peace. Assad used airplanes to attack rebels, making the war even more brutal.

2013: Hezbollah, a group from Lebanon, started helping Assad gain back ground against the rebels. There was a deadly gas attack that killed many civilians but didn’t bring any military help from the U.S.

2014: The Islamic State, a terrorist group, took over Raqqa in Syria and began spreading further into Iraq. Some rebel fighters in Homs gave up, marking a significant loss. The U.S. then began attacking the Islamic State from the air, supporting Kurdish fighters.

2015: Rebels started gaining more strength and took control of Idlib, but there were more Islamist fighters in the mix. Russia joined the fight, providing support to Assad, which turned the tide against the rebels for some time.

2016: Turkey looked to stop Kurdish fighters from advancing, so they invaded a part of Syria. The Syrian army managed to defeat rebels in Aleppo, which was a big win for Assad. The Nusra Front began to change its name to appear more moderate.

2017: Israel attacked Hezbollah in Syria to weaken them. U.S.-backed Kurdish forces defeated the Islamic State in Raqqa, taking back important land.

2018: The Syrian army regained control of eastern Ghouta and other areas previously held by rebels.

2019: Islamic State lost its last territory in Syria. The U.S. decided to keep some troops in place to help its Kurdish allies.

2020: Russia helped the Syrian government, leading to a ceasefire agreement with Turkey. By now, Assad had regained control of most of Syria, with rebels holding onto the northwest.

2023: Following the attack on Israel by Hamas, fighting broke out between Israel and Hezbollah, weakening Hezbollah’s hold in Syria and seriously hurting Assad’s power.

2024: Rebels attacked Aleppo once again. With Assad’s allies distracted, his army fell apart quickly. Just eight days after Aleppo fell, rebels took over most major cities and entered Damascus, forcing Assad to flee.