Assad government falls as rebels enter Damascus

On 8 December 2024, opposition forces entered the Syrian capital, Damascus, and announced the end of Bashar al-Assad's government. Assad left the country, and Russia later confirmed that it had granted him asylum in Moscow.

The collapse came after a rapid offensive launched in late November from northwest Syria, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Fighters took Aleppo, then Hama and Homs, while government forces offered little resistance. Assad's allies, Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, were stretched by other conflicts and did not stop the advance.

The fall ended more than 50 years of rule by the Assad family, which began with Hafez al-Assad in 1970, and Bashar's rule since 2000. It also closed a civil war that began in 2011, killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions. A transitional authority took over, but the country faced the task of rebuilding cities, institutions and infrastructure damaged by years of fighting, including public sites such as sports venues.