Syria’s Bashar Al Assad’s quarter century in power
In 2000, he won referendum with more than 97% of vote at which he was the only candidate
PARIS: AFP looks back at almost a quarter century of rule by Syrian President Bashar Al Assad since he was propelled to power following the death of his father Hafez in 2000.
2000: TAKES OVER FROM FATHER — On July 17, 2000, Al Assad becomes Syria’s new head of state, after the death of his father, aged 69, who ruled Syria for 30 years.
He won a referendum with more than 97 per cent of the vote at which he was the only candidate.
On June 10, 2000, the day of Hafez’s death, parliament had amended the constitution to lower the minimum age required to become president - a tailor-made change for Bashar who was born in 1965.
He had been appointed commander-in-chief of the armed forces and leader of the ruling Baath party straight after his father’s death.
2000: ‘DAMASCUS SPRING’ — In September that year, 100 intellectuals call for the lifting of martial law, in place since 1963, more freedom and political pluralism. This becomes known as the “Damascus Spring”.
An ensuing period of apparent openness is short-lived.
Al Assad’s government cracks down on dissent and arrests 10 opponents in July 2001.
2005: WITHDRAWAL FROM LEBANON — In February 2005, former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri is assassinated in a massive Beirut bombing.
Major Western powers and Lebanese opposition blame Syria, which has a strong military presence in Lebanon, and call for the withdrawal of its troops. Damascus denies responsibility.
In April, the last of tens of thousands of Syrian troops leave Lebanon, ending 29 years of military and political domination.
2005: ‘DAMASCUS DECLARATION’ — In October 2005, opposition parties unite to launch a joint “Damascus Declaration” calling for radical and democratic change, and criticising “a totalitarian-style and sectarian regime”.
The authorities clamp down on opposition activists and intellectuals.
In December 2007, there is a new wave of arrests from among the pro-democracy opposition.
2011: REBELLION LEADS TO WAR — In March 2011, in the turmoil of the Arab Spring that sees people rise up against autocratic rulers, protests break out in Syria calling for civil liberties and the release of political prisoners.
The regime launches a bloody crackdown on what it brands “terrorists”. Rallies spread and an armed rebellion ensues which sparks a full-blown civil war, with several regional and international powers getting involved, as well as jihadists.
In 2012, the regime uses heavy weapons against the rebels, including airstrikes. It will be accused on numerous occasions of using chemical weapons, charges it denies.
Al Assad clings on to power with massive military backing from Russia and Iran and Tehran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, managing to win back most of the territory his regime lost.
A truce is declared in March 2020 after an accord between Russia and Turkey, but the country is dogged by bombardments and sporadic militant attacks.
The war has killed more than 500,000 people, displaced half the country’s pre-war population and makes Assad a global pariah.
2021: FOURTH TERM — On May 26, 2021, Al Assad is re-elected as expected for a fourth term, with 95.1 per cent of the vote.
2023: RETURN TO THE ARAB DIPLOMATIC SCENE — Syria rejoins the Arab League in May 2023 and Al Assad takes part in his first summit for more than a decade.
Syria had been expelled in 2011 in response to its crackdown on the popular uprising.
2023: INTERNATIONAL ARREST WARRANT — In November 2023, France issues an international arrest warrant for Al Assad, suspected of complicity in crimes against humanity for chemical attacks in 2013 in Syria blamed on his regime.
The next day the International Court of Justice, the UN’s top legal body, orders Syria to bring an end to torture and cruel and degrading treatment.
2024: LIGHTNING REBEL OFFENSIVE — On November 27, the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) leads a rebel offensive and for the first time in the war wrests control of second city Aleppo from Al Assad’s forces.
The rebels press on and within days take over other key cities, such as Hama and Homs, before announcing their arrival in the capital Damascus on Sunday.
Hours after Al Assad’s office on Saturday denied he had fled the capital, HTS said they had toppled the “tyrant”.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, reported Sunday the president had left the country before security forces abandoned Damascus International Airport.