President Assad

I doubt it would will be a peaceful transition with all the different factions wanting their leaders in power. I hope I’m wrong.

I suspect Syria will end up as an Islamic State, much like Iran or Saudi Arabia. Nonetheless I was hoping the rebels would manage to apprehend Assad so he can account for his crimes.
Neither Assad nor an Islamic State will be good for the ordinary people of Syria.

petal53

I suspect Syria will end up as an Islamic State, much like Iran or Saudi Arabia. Nonetheless I was hoping the rebels would manage to apprehend Assad so he can account for his crimes.
Neither Assad nor an Islamic State will be good for the ordinary people of Syria.

I doubt it will be an Islamic state like Iran
On the news this morning there was footage of the rebels ( freedom fighters? ) destroying anything associated with Iran.

It's difficult to know how this will end. Millions of Syrians have been killed or fled as a result of this dreadful war. Assad is an evil man but I can't imagine it's going to be easy for Syrians to create a peaceful country which refugees will want to return to but under Assad that was never going to happen anyway. The middle East is so unstable I think we can only hope that the situation doesn't get worse rather than better.

It was interesting to witness that neither Russia or Iran rushed in to help.
Russia is over stretched and Iran is keeping its head down.

I was thinking is it true that Russia has withdrawn its support for Assad? Therefore if so why would Russia preempt Assad’s downfall now if not to destabilise the West?
Assad is a family man as well as a politician so keeping his English bred wife safe will be a priority too.

That's what the live feed on I player emphasised, petra. (as I knew very little I went there). Best hopes are apparently for the Prime Minister to keep things going until elections.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cwy8xzxe0w7t
In the lead picture I was glad to see women out in the streets - I just hope ordinary poor Syrians have a chance .

Israel's weakening of Hezbollah in Lebanon has directly affected the situation in Syria by effectively also weakening Iran, whether this will be good for the Middle East generally is anyone's guess but sadly I think not.

Islamist rebels backed by Erdoğan. That is the real story. Has BBC reported on this?? Pro democracy rebels stand no chance of gaining victory.

Russian jets were carrying out air strikes in Syria six days ago.

The Russian Mediterranean Fleet is based in Tatrus on the Black Sea. I wouldn’t count them out yet.

I imagine the population of Syria will be the losers in this conflict for many years to come.

ronib

I was thinking is it true that Russia has withdrawn its support for Assad? Therefore if so why would Russia preempt Assad’s downfall now if not to destabilise the West?
Assad is a family man as well as a politician so keeping his English bred wife safe will be a priority too.

I don't quite understand what you're saying here, but on reflection, when Russia was supplying help to Assad in bombing his own population it did create a huge exodus of refugees at the time of the Brexit vote. Which was handy for heightening immigration fears in the UK.

But now, of course, Russia has to fight its own war.

Freya5

Islamist rebels backed by Erdoğan. That is the real story. Has BBC reported on this?? Pro democracy rebels stand no chance of gaining victory.

Its included Turkish backed forces in its newsfeed as one of the key players and in the past many articles on Erdogan/Syria (can be googled) but all eyes currently on hour by hour developments in Damascus.

Seems to me that Russia was taken by surprise, if Assad is out of the equation where do their interests lie?

Wonderful to see women and children being liberated from the the slaughterhouse prison at Saydnaya .

This wont go well for women and children.

It's hugely complicated. The various fighting forces opposed to the Assad regime do not coalesce, neither do the countries providing arms and support necessarily agree, goodness knows where the Syrian Kurds stand and they represent about 10% of the population. The US still has troops in Northern Syria and Russia also has bases in Syria which are of strategic importance. I feel for the citizens of Syria and I would not be surprised if this doesn't lead to more refugees leaving than returning to an uncertain future.

Yes. Currently the DM has a lead story on that and pictures to make one weep, overall reports of political prisoners being released from may jails where some held for years.

petra

It was interesting to witness that neither Russia or Iran rushed in to help.
Russia is over stretched and Iran is keeping its head down.

Russia did bomb Aleppo this week, but its armed services have other more pressing commitments at home.

It has been suggested that Hezbollah has been so damaged by the Isreli attacks in Lebanon, it was unable to respond to the rebels attacks in Syria. Iran operates in the Middle East through Hezbollah, so they are stuck.

The rebels are mixed bunch and contain some Taliban associated units as well as more liberal groups

Reports his plane is missing....

loopyloo

Reports his plane is missing....

That can only be a good news 🤪

petra

loopyloo

Reports his plane is missing....

That can only be a good news 🤪

No, it cannot, I would never wish for the death of anyone.

I doubt things will improve greatly for Syria with Assad’s departure, though he is one less despot to worry about. Fact is Islamic militias will be poised to seize control of part of Syria, with the Kurdish YPG and US allies in another part of Syria. And who knows what Putin has planned. Seems Turkey is backing the Islamists, no surprises there for then they will back attacks on the Kurds who are a sworn enemy of Turkey, but this then puts the US in a tricky position. Obviously they will counter the Islamists but can’t be seen to be fighting NATO ally Turkey.
One thing is for sure the Iranian regime can no longer supply Hezbollah via Syria so I imagine Israel are celebrating.
But is sadly not great news for ordinary Syrians after so many years of conflict.

loopyloo

Reports his plane is missing....

I think that means the pilot has switched off tracking, not that it has crashed.

petra

It was interesting to witness that neither Russia or Iran rushed in to help.
Russia is over stretched and Iran is keeping its head down.

Assad is no use to Russia now that he's lost power. And if he has fled there then he'll be dependant on the tender mercies of Putin, who is an equally vicious tyrant.

Putin would use him as a bargaining chip.