Who controls the nation now Assad has gone?

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BBC An image of anti-government rebel fighters on a vehicle with a map showing Syria imposed in the foreground.

In simply two weeks, Syrian rebels have swept from their enclave within the north west to seize a string of main cities, earlier than reaching the capital Damascus and toppling President Bashar al-Assad, 13 years after the beginning of the nation’s civil battle.

In convoys of small automobiles and motorbikes, fighters led by the insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) moved quickly alongside the north-south freeway which kinds the nation’s most important backbone to take Damascus with out resistance.

However whereas many within the nation are celebrating the downfall of a household dynasty that dominated Syria with an iron fist, the longer term is unsure and the state of affairs on the bottom stays in flux, with a lot of totally different insurgent teams controlling totally different elements of the nation.

Who controls what territory in Syria?

Map of Syria shaded to show who controls different areas of the country. The Syrian opposition forces, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham are shown to control an area to the west stretching almost from north to south which includes most of Syria's major cities. Turkish-backed rebels control areas in the north by the border with Turkey, and Kurdish-led forces control much of the north-east.

The autumn of the Assad regime was led to by the sudden and surprising advance by HTS rebels however, though the group controls Syria’s most important cities, it doesn’t govern the entire nation.

Syria has for years been managed by a patchwork of insurgent teams together with HTS in Idlib and Kurdish-led teams within the nation’s north east, a few of which have additionally taken territory in latest days and weeks.

Not one of the insurgent teams will mourn the falling of the Assad regime, however discovering a consensus over tips on how to run the nation may nonetheless show troublesome and within the north of the nation there have been clashes between competing factions.

How did the rebels attain Damascus?

After years locked behind frozen frontlines, the rebels mounted a lightning advance, culminating within the toppling of the president and takeover of the capital on the weekend.

After taking Syria’s second metropolis Aleppo on the finish of November, the rebels continued their offensive, shifting south to take management of the town of Hama final Thursday.

The advance continued at tempo, and on Saturday the rebels swept via Syria’s third metropolis, Homs, going through little resistance and pushed straight on to the capital Damascus.

By Monday morning, it was confirmed that President Assad had fled the nation, with Russian information sources reporting he had been given asylum in Russia.

A graphic showing how quickly the rebels have advanced across the northern parts of Syria down towards Homs. In October, the HTS controlled a small area around Idlib near the border with Turkey. But after a few days of fighting, by 3 December they had taken control of Aleppo and were heading south towards Hama. By 4 December, they had surrounded Hama. By 5 December, they had taken Hama and were pushing south towards the city of Homs. On the 8 December they had control of Damascus and claimed an "historic victory". The most recent information for 10 December shows them continuing their advances towards Syria's Mediterranean coast.

Map: The place is Syria and the way are its neighbours concerned?

Syria, with a inhabitants of about 22 million folks, is positioned on the east coast of the Mediterranean sea. It borders Turkey to the north, Lebanon and Israel to the west and south west, Iraq to the east and Jordan to the south.

Turkey, Western powers and a number of other Gulf Arab states have backed various parts of the Syrian opposition to various levels in the course of the battle.

The Lebanon-based Hezbollah motion, backed by Iran, has fought alongside the Syrian regime military however has been severely weakened by its battle with Israel. This has been seen as a key purpose why the insurgent advance was so profitable.

Israel, involved by what it calls Iran’s “army entrenchment” in Syria, has launched air strikes in opposition to Syria’s army.

Map showing Syria and its neighbours with Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan in the south and Lebanon and Israel to the south west. Some of Syria's western border meets the Mediterranean Sea.

How has Israel responded?

Israeli warplanes have reportedly been finishing up a whole lot of airstrikes throughout Syria, focusing on Syrian Military army amenities, together with weapon warehouses, ammunition depots, airports, naval bases and analysis centres.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) says it has documented greater than 350 strikes by Israel for the reason that fall of the Assad regime on Sunday, together with on the capital, Damascus, Aleppo and Hama.

A map showing the places in Syria that Israel has targeted with missile strikes, most of which are in the south and west of the country, particularly around the capital, Damascus.

The Israel Protection Forces (IDF) claims it has destroyed round 80% of the Assad regime’s army functionality, although that determine has not been independently verified.

Israel says its actions are to stop weapons falling “into the fingers of extremists” as Syria transitions right into a post-Assad period.

An aerial photograph reveals Syrian naval ships destroyed throughout an in a single day Israeli assault on the port metropolis of Latakia on December 10, 2024

Getty Images An aerial photo shows Syrian naval ships destroyed during an overnight Israeli attack on the port city of Latakia on December 10, 2024 — An aerial photograph reveals Syrian naval ships destroyed throughout an in a single day Israeli assault on the port metropolis of Latakia on December 10, 2024

Israel additionally says it has quickly seized management of a demilitarized buffer zone within the Golan Heights, saying the 1974 disengagement settlement with Syria had “collapsed” with the insurgent takeover of the nation.

It denies experiences it has tanks approaching Damascus however says some troops are working in Syrian territory past the buffer zone.

The Golan Heights is a rocky plateau about 60km (40 miles) south-west of Damascus.

Israel seized the territory from Syria within the closing phases of the 1967 Six-Day Warfare and unilaterally annexed it in 1981. The transfer was not recognised internationally, though the US did so unilaterally in 2019.

Map showing south west Syria and the Golan Heights, where Israel says its forces have created a buffer zone and taken positions vacated by the fleeing Syrian army.

What is going on in northern Syria?

Within the northern metropolis of Manbij there have been clashes between Turkish-backed forces and Kurdish-led rebels.

Either side claimed to have taken elements of the town and combating is reported to be ongoing in some neighbourhoods.

The Euphrates river acts as a dividing line between the territory managed by the Turkish-backed teams within the west and the Kurdish-led forces within the east.

Map showing which groups are in control of northern Syria. Kurdish-led rebels control almost all of the area to the east between the Euphrates river and the Turkish border, while Turkish-backed groups control an area to the west of the Euphrates and north of Aleppo.

Russian bases in Syria

In 2015, Russia despatched hundreds of troops to Syria to assist maintain President Assad in energy.

In return for this army help, Russia was given 49-year leases on two key army bases.

A map showing the location of Russia's two military bases in Syria. Both are in the west of the country, in the Latakia region, on the Mediterranean coast. The Hmeimim air base is south of the city of Latakia and around two miles (3 kilometres) inland from the town of Jableh. The Tartous naval base is around 40 miles (60 kilometres) further south in the town of the same name.

The port at Tartous is Russia’s solely main abroad naval base and in addition its solely naval base within the Mediterranean.

Together with the air base at Hmeimim, which is commonly used to fly Russia’s army contractors out and in of Africa, the 2 bases play an necessary position in Russia’s capacity to function as a world energy.

The Kremlin has mentioned it can maintain discussions with Syria’s new administration on the way forward for each websites.

Within the meantime, Russian ships have left the port and are anchored simply off the coast.