Post-Assad Syria: a new era of chaos and instability
The crumbling and collapse at a speed that no one expected left the way clear for extremist armed organizations with an Islamist tinge to take Damascus without any battle.
After almost 14 years of bloody conflict in Syria, the regime fell and its head, Bashar al-Assad, fled to Russia after having been a key player in this conflict that took on regional dimensions.
But with the end of the Assad era, a new stage of chaos and violations begins, as many sexual assaults were recorded within days of taking control of the armed organizations.
Security vacuum and collective revenge
Many Syrian regions, especially in and around Damascus, Homs and Aleppo, witnessed reprisals and executions on the ground against former officials and officers accused of committing rapes.
These violations culminated in scenes of the burning of the tomb of Hafez al-Assad, father of Bashar al-Assad in Qardaha, his hometown, an act of desecration that was considered a provocation and an insult to the Alawite minority to which the Assad clan belongs.
Scenes of violence and violations: reports from human rights organizations and eyewitnesses confirmed multiple crimes during the last few days, including:
Executions outside the law: social networks collected images of executions on the ground and torture in the vicinity of Damascus, Hama and Homs, and several cases of executions of people believed to be working for the fallen regime's security services were recorded.
Looting and robberies: on the first day of the fall of Damascus, cameras captured civilians and armed men coming out of the doors of the Syrian Central Bank carrying billions of Syrian pounds, these images were repeated in several government institutions.
Arbitrary arrests: civilians were detained without clear charges, amid allegations of torture and ill-treatment.
Sectarian attacks: acts of violence against specific groups occurred in multi-denominational areas, in a painful reproduction of the sectarian conflict that tore Syria apart, at the same time as thousands of families of the Alawite minority fled towards neighboring countries, especially Lebanon, where they were not allowed to cross borders, something that presages a new refugee crisis reminiscent of the exodus of millions of Syrians who in 2015 headed towards European countries, including Spain.
International reactions: several countries, including Europeans, announced that they are closely following the situation and the steps of the armed factions, led by Hayat Tahrir al Sham, the largest and most dominant faction that owed declared allegiance to Al Qaeda. HTS, the predominant organization in Syria remains on the list of terrorist organizations for many countries, including the two major players in Syria, the United States and Turkey.
Syria's future: up in the air
The scenes of armed men from the ISIS terrorist organization parading through the streets and waving the organization's flag generated local and international fears of a repeat of the same scenario that occurred in the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2014, this organization controlled the Iraqi city and carried out violations that are still present in memory.
With the absence of a central government or a transitional authority to govern the country, and with militants marching towards Damascus in search of Assad regime officials to hold them accountable, Syria seems to be facing an unknown future, and the armed factions, most of them Islamic extremists and bearded, short-clothed men who united against Assad, now face the challenge of maintaining their cohesion amid an unprecedented proliferation of light and heavy weapons in the country.
Ultimately, the fall of Bashar al-Assad opened a new chapter in Syria's history, but it did not end the suffering of the Syrian people. The biggest challenge now facing Syrians is how they can overcome the legacy of violence and sectarian strife and build a country based on justice and equality in a context dominated by extremist organizations known for their bloody history against minorities and amidst hatred and desires for revenge that are not hidden, what especially supports the fears is the attack on Kurdish minority areas in the Deir ez-Zor region, which portends a new ethnic conflict, in addition to the sectarian wars that have been going on for about a decade and a half along with the terrorism and violence that have left the country in tatters.
The international community is called upon to urgently intervene to ensure the protection of civilians and develop a roadmap to achieve stability and reconstruction in Syria, but these hopes seem far-fetched in light of the control of HTS and extremist Islamic factions throughout the country, especially in light of the terrifying terrorist practices these factions have demonstrated thus far.