Demonstrators celebrate the fall of Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime in Tripoli, Northern Lebanon, on Dec. 8, 2024. (Credit: Ibrahim Chalhoub/AFP)
The regime has fallen. At dawn on Sunday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by the armed opposition, several days after the start of the Aleppo offensive, which saw the government forces' defensive lines unexpectedly crumble. Fifty-one years after the real Nakba for the Syrian people when Hafez al-Assad came to power, and 13 years after the bloody repression of pro-democracy demonstrations by his son and successor, the fall of this regime represents a new beginning for Syria. But it also ushers in a new era for the entire region, notably Lebanon, where Hezbollah, reeling from a destructive war against Israel, finds itself in an unprecedented position, weaker than ever.Indeed, this is the first time since the creation of Hezbollah in the 1980s that Syria has not been ruled by the Assad clan. Despite a rocky relationship in...
The regime has fallen. At dawn on Sunday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by the armed opposition, several days after the start of the Aleppo offensive, which saw the government forces' defensive lines unexpectedly crumble. Fifty-one years after the real Nakba for the Syrian people when Hafez al-Assad came to power, and 13 years after the bloody repression of pro-democracy demonstrations by his son and successor, the fall of this regime represents a new beginning for Syria. But it also ushers in a new era for the entire region, notably Lebanon, where Hezbollah, reeling from a destructive war against Israel, finds itself in an unprecedented position, weaker than ever.Indeed, this is the first time since the creation of Hezbollah in the 1980s that Syria has not been ruled by the Assad clan. Despite a rocky relationship in...