As Syrians celebrated the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime on Sunday, three foreign powers – Israel, Turkey and the US – carried out airstrikes throughout the country. All three framed the bombings as an attempt to protect their interests after a lightning offensive by rebel fighters triggered Assad’s sudden ouster – and the withdrawal of his two main foreign protectors, Russia and Iran.
In the heady hours after Assad fled to Moscow, thousands of political prisoners were freed from the Baathist regime’s prisons and torture centers. Syrians tore down statues and photos of Assad and his father, Hafez, who took power in 1970 and turned Syria into a police state. All told, father and son had ruled Syria for 54 years. But millions of Syrians barely had time to absorb the fact that the Assad family’s reign had finally ended before it became clear that other outside actors would be jockeying to shape Syria’s future.
