How Syria’s rebel advance unfolded

Rebel fighters poured into the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, bringing an end to the 24-year reign of deposed President Bashar al-Assad and his Baath Party, which had ruled the country since a 1963 coup.

Speaking to Reuters, two senior Syrian officers said Assad had fled Damascus while the foreign ministry of Russia, a key ally during more than 13 years of civil war, said he had left the country altogether, though this has not been confirmed by Newsweek.

Syria erupted into a brutal civil war in 2011 after forces loyal to the regime opened fire on anti-Assad demonstrators during the so-called Arab Spring, resulting in heavy casualties and causing many opposition activists to take up arms against the government.

In September 2015, Russia intervened on the side of Assad, and with support from Iran and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah loyalists, succeeded in recapturing most non-Kurdish areas of Syria, with rebels pinned into a small enclave around Idlib in the northwest of the country.

Assad’s apparent triumph saw efforts to reintegrate his regime into regional politics, culminating in Syria being readmitted to the Arab League in May 2023 and the president attending its summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. All this came crashing down with the latest rebel offensive from Idlib.

Newsweek has provided a timeline of the rebel advance, culminating in the fall of Damascus, below.

Offensive Begins—November 27

Rebel groups, led by the Islamist faction Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), launched a surprise offensive from its territory around Idlib toward Aleppo, Syria’s second city. Parts of Aleppo had previously been captured by rebels before being retaken in a grueling siege by Assad loyalists and allies that saw it dubbed “Syria’s Stalingrad.” By the end of December 2016, the city, much of it in ruins, was fully under government control.

HTS is headed by Abu Mohammad al-Julani, formerly the leader of Al-Qaeda‘s Syrian branch the Al-Nusra Front though he has since split from the global jihadi organization and has vowed to safeguard Syria’s minority communities.

Arrival at Aleppo—November 29

On November 29, rebel fighters entered Aleppo according to Turkey’s Anadolu state news agency, with videos and photographs published on social media apparently showing HTS gunmen in some of its suburbs.

In a statement, the Syrian army said its troops “continue to repel the major offensive launched by armed terrorist groups,” adding they had been “able to retake control of certain positions.”

Fall of Aleppo—November 30

Rebel troops surged across Aleppo on November 30, taking control of the “majority” of the city according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a U.K.-based monitoring organization. The SOHR also claimed that more than 300 people, including over 20 civilians, had been killed since the rebel offensive began on November 27.

The Syrian military confirmed rebels had entered “large parts” of Aleppo and said its forces had temporarily pulled back “to prepare for a counteroffensive.” The BBC verified footage showing opposition fighters in control of Aleppo’s historic citadel, an Assad stronghold during previous fighting in the city.

November 30 also saw Russia carry out “a series of airstrikes” that killed at least 12 people in Aleppo and eight in Idlib according to the SOHR.

March on Hama—December 3

After seizing Aleppo, rebel forces headed south advancing toward Hama, Syria’s fourth biggest city. It lay on a road leading to Homs, Syria’s third biggest city, and eventually on to Damascus.

According to the SOHR, on December 3, rebels captured the towns of Taybat al-Imam, Suran and Maardes just north of Hama.

Fall of Hama—December 5

On December 5, Hama was stormed by rebels, with both the HTS and the Syrian National Army, a group of Turkish-backed militia, involved in fighting against regime forces.

The Syrian army said it had withdrawn its troops from Hama “to preserve the lives of civilians and not to involve the people of the city in these battles.”

Daraa Uprising—December 6

An uprising broke out across Syria’s southern Daraa province, an opposition stronghold before it was recaptured by Assad’s troops following years of fighting, on December 6.

Rebels swiftly captured a succession of towns as Assad loyalists either fled or abandoned their uniforms and merged into the civilian population. Rebellion also broke out in the neighboring Suwayda province, dominated by the Druze religious minority, with Suwayda central prison seized and prisoners released.

Attack on Damascus—December 7

Rebel troops from Daraa province, backed by local fighters, began assaulting the Syrian capital of Damascus from the south.

Simultaneously, the rebel army led by HTS arrived in the northern suburbs of Homs, while other armed groups cut the main Damascus-to-Homs highway.

The historic city of Palmyra in eastern Syria, once controlled by ISIS, was also seized by rebels, who The New Arab reported were from the Western backed Syrian Free Army.

Fall of Damascus—December 8

On December 8, the fall of both Damascus and Homs was confirmed, with rebels declaring “the liberation of the city of Damascus and the fall of the tyrant Bashar al-Assad” from inside a state television studio.

The Israeli government announced it was deploying troops to the buffer zone along its border with Syria after the “entry of armed personnel” into the area was detected. The Israelis added they were “not interfering with the internal events in Syria.”