World leaders, Trudeau hail ‘fall of Assad’s dictatorship’ after rebels topple Syrian government | CBC News

After a rapid offensive by armed factions that ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, countries like the United States and Turkey now caution against any resurgence of the Islamic State, which had conquered large territories in northwestern Iraq and eastern Syria a decade ago, taking advantage of the ongoing civil war in Syria.

Syrian rebels declared they had overthrown Assad after seizing control of Damascus on Sunday, forcing him to flee and ending his family’s decades of autocratic rule after more than 13 years of civil war in a seismic moment for the Middle East.

The announcement came from the leading rebel commander, who has previously spoken about nation-building in a country with multiple ethnic and religious communities.

The Islamist rebels also dealt a major blow to the influence of Russia and Iran in Syria in the heart of the region — allies who had propped up Assad during critical periods in the conflict.

“The fall of Assad’s dictatorship ends decades of brutal oppression,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday on social media.

“A new chapter for Syria can begin here — one free of terrorism and suffering for the Syrian people.”

Trudeau added Canada is watching the situation closely and urges parties involved to respect human rights.

U.S. President Joe Biden called the Syrian government’s collapse a “fundamental act of justice” after decades of repression, but also a “a moment of risk and uncertainty” for the Middle East.

Biden credited action by the U.S. and its allies for weakening Syria’s backers — Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. He said “for the first time” that they could no longer defend Assad’s grip on power.

“Our approach has shifted the balance of power in the Middle East,” Biden said.

On social media, U.S. president-election Donald Trump said: “Assad is gone. He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer.”

Israeli PM calls it a ‘historic day’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Assad’s fall was a direct result of blows dealt by Israel to Iran and its ally Hezbollah.

“The fall of Assad, a major link in the Iranian axis, is a historic day and a direct result of blows dealt to Hezbollah and Iran by Israel,” Netanyahu said.

“We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border,” he added.

WATCH | Netanyahu says Assad’s defeat follows Israeli action against Iran, Hezbollah: 

Netanyahu says Assad’s defeat follows Israeli action against Iran, Hezbollah

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a ‘historic day’ that followed the blows delivered by Israel against Assad’s supporters Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which created a chain reaction throughout the region.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/1.7404722.

‘The future is ours,’ rebel leader says

Leading rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani said there was no room for turning back and the group was determined to continue the path they started in 2011 during the Arab Spring uprisings. “The future is ours,” he said in a statement read on Syria’s state TV after his forces took over Damascus.

Al-Golani, 42, has spent years working to remake his public image, renouncing longtime ties to al-Qaeda and depicting himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance. In recent days, the insurgency even dropped his nom de guerre and began referring to him by his real name, Ahmad al-Sharaa.

He and his insurgent force, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS – many of whose fighters are jihadis — stand to be a major player going forward. 

Al-Golani has recently talked of building state institutions and decentralizing power to reflect Syria’s diversity.

“Syria deserves a governing system that is institutional, no one where a single ruler makes arbitrary decisions,” he said in an interview with CNN last week, offering the possibility HTS would eventually be dissolved after Assad falls.

“Don’t judge by words, but by actions,” he said. 

French President Emmanuel Macron said “the barbaric state has fallen” and paid tribute to the Syrian people.

As Syrians expressed joy at the Assad regime’s collapse, Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali called for free elections.

Jalali also said he had been in contact with Golani to discuss managing the transitional period, marking a notable development in efforts to shape Syria’s political future.

Daunting task ahead

When the celebrations fade, Syria’s new leaders will face the daunting task of trying to deliver stability to a diverse country with competing factions that will need billions of dollars in aid and investments to rebuild.

One possible challenge could be a resurgence of Islamic State militants.

During its prime, the group imposed a reign of terror in large swathes of Syria and Iraq and directed external operations before it was defeated by a U.S.-led coalition.

Predicting what Syria’s future may look like is “complicated,” with the expectation that different factions will vie for power, Sajjan Gohel, the international security director at the Asia-Pacific Foundation, told CBC News on Sunday. 

“There will be talk about an interim government, but you’re looking at so many different actors in Syria with different beliefs, none of which are compatible,” Gohel said.

Hezbollah withdrew shortly before collapse

Lebanese-based Hezbollah, which provided crucial support to Assad for years, withdrew all of its forces from Syria on Saturday as rebel factions approached Damascus, two Lebanese security sources told Reuters on Sunday.

Assad, who had not spoken in public since the sudden rebel advance a week ago, flew out of Damascus for an unknown destination earlier on Sunday, two senior army officers told Reuters. His whereabouts now — and those of his wife Asma and their two children — were unknown.

The Syrian rebel coalition said it was continuing work to complete the transfer of power in the country to a transitional governing body with full executive powers.

“The great Syrian revolution has moved from the stage of struggle to overthrow the Assad regime to the struggle to build a Syria together that befits the sacrifices of its people,” it added in a statement.

The collapse of Assad’s rule followed a shift in the balance of power in the Middle East after many leaders of Hezbollah, a lynchpin of Assad’s battlefield force, were killed by Israel over the past two months.

Russia, a staunch Assad ally, intervened decisively in 2015 to help Assad during Syria’s civil war. But it has been tied down by the Ukraine war.

U.S. to maintain presence

Syria’s civil war, which erupted in 2011 as an uprising against Assad’s rule, dragged in a string of outside powers, created space for jihadist militants to plot attacks around the world and sent millions of refugees into neighbouring states.

The frontlines were dormant for years. Then Islamists who had once been affiliated with al-Qaeda suddenly burst into action in late November.

• What questions do you have about Syria and the fall of Bashar al-Assad? Are you a Syrian refugee in Canada — what’s your reaction? Leave your questions and comments here to be part of Cross Country Checkup today at 4 p.m. ET.

The United States will continue to maintain its presence in eastern Syria and will take measures necessary to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for the Middle East Daniel Shapiro said at a conference in Manama on Sunday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said “terrorist organizations” must not be allowed to take advantage of the situation in Syria and called for caution.

HTS, which spearheaded the rebel advances across western Syria, was formerly an al-Qaeda affiliate until its leader Golani severed ties with the global jihadist movement in 2016. But some Syrians remain fearful that it will impose draconian Islamist rule or instigate reprisals.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Bashar al Assad has “brutally oppressed his own people, has countless lives on his conscience and has driven numerous people to flee Syria, many of whom have also come to Germany.

“The Syrian people have experienced appalling suffering. The end of Assad’s rule over Syria is therefore good news,” Scholz said.

WATCH | Why the war in Syria reignited: 

Why the war in Syria just reignited

The civil war in Syria has reignited after years of lying dormant, with a coalition of opposition forces swiftly taking control of a number of major cities. CBC’s Chris Brown breaks down how the situation unravelled and the key players fighting for control.