Inside the Lightning Offensive That Overthrew the Assad Regime

Syria : The end of the 53-year rule of the Assad family came not through years of slow attrition, but in a sudden, three-day offensive that shocked international observers and highlighted the moral decay of the Syrian regime’s military.

Exactly one year ago, forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (then known as Jolani) broke out of the Idlib province and rapidly stormed towards the capital.

The speed of the HTS takeover was unprecedented. It took the HTS forces just three days to capture Aleppo, Syria’s northern powerhouse. This stands in stark contrast to the period between 2012 and 2016, when the regime’s army, heavily backed by Russian air force and artillery, fought for years to retake control of the city, resulting in large areas being devastated by bombing.

The sudden capitulation stemmed from internal exhaustion and corruption. By late 2024, government troops, composed of both conscripts and loyalists, were “no longer prepared to fight and die for a corrupt and cruel regime that repaid them with poverty and oppression,” the article reports.

The former president, Bashar al-Assad, fled with his family to Russia, marking the end of a long and brutal civil war.

The victorious forces entering Damascus, like many armed groups throughout the conflict, were predominantly Sunni Islamists. Sharaa, their leader, spent years cultivating an image of a statesman who had “outgrown his jihadist roots,” necessitated by Syria’s diverse religious landscape.

Sharaa’s history is complex: a long-time fighter for al-Qaeda in Iraq, a former commander in the group that became Islamic State, he later broke with and fought both groups to consolidate power in Idlib.

Upon taking the presidential palace, Sharaa sought to immediately project an image of stability and normalcy, telling interviewers that his government would rule for all Syrians. Despite his assurances, the transition remains dangerous, with jihadist hardliners branding him a traitor for aligning with Western objectives, and security services remaining vigilant against attacks from the remnants of a weakened Islamic State.

The rapid, unexpected collapse serves as a powerful historical marker of how deeply disillusioned the regime’s loyalists had become, leading to a swift end to one of the 21st century’s most protracted conflicts.