BEIRUT (AP) — The Syrian government appeared to have fallen early Sunday in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family after a lightning rebel offensive.

The head of a Syrian opposition war monitor said President Bashar Assad had left the country for an undisclosed location, fleeing ahead of insurgents who said they had entered Damascus after a remarkably swift advance across the country.

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali said the government was ready to “extend its hand” to the opposition and hand over its functions to a transitional government.

  • Zoe@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    7 days ago

    I wonder what this will mean for the kurds? I am hoping that HTS remains true to their words about religious and ethnic minorities. Mazloum Abdi of the SDF at least seems hopeful for an opportunity to build a democratic and just Syria. Im not holding my breath though, it is a very rapidly changing situation and we’ll just have to wait and see

    • Skiluros@sh.itjust.works
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      7 days ago

      Let’s see what comes out of this.

      It would have been better to put him on trial and execute him for crimes against humanity.

  • ECB@feddit.org
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    7 days ago

    No love for Assad, but given all the islamist groups involved I have a bad feeling that this is going to end up even worse…

    • CeruleanRuin@lemmings.world
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      7 days ago

      Armed rebellions rarely result in a stable regime that’s less bad than what they replaced. It’s just an unfortunate fact of history. What they create is an instability which often takes a generation to shake off.

  • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    We complained a lot about Obama arming Syrian Rebels, myself very much included, but it’s kind of hard to argue with results I guess.

    I just hope, with very little faith, that the replacement regime isn’t even worse.

    • CeruleanRuin@lemmings.world
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      7 days ago

      The replacement regime is almost always worse, or just as bad but in different ways. And then it too falls.

    • guy@piefed.social
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      7 days ago

      I don’t think this group was armed by the US, it’s classified as a terrorist organization. Turkey on the other hand seems to be of help to them.

  • FourPacketsOfPeanuts@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    Honestly makes me wonder why Russia has gone to this enormous trauma to secure a warm sea port. There are knock off battery powered home cinemas on AliExpress with stronger projection capabilities…

    • Skiluros@sh.itjust.works
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      7 days ago

      This is a re-occurring theme in russian history:

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Japanese_War

      While the russian economic model evolves with times (Tsarist feudalism, state managed economy under socialism, oligarchic capitalist plutocracy), attitudes around imperialism and governance unfortunately will not change until russians start being treated as they treat others.