Documents from 1994, recently released after a 30-year confidentiality period, highlight Switzerland’s foreign policy challenges, including discussions on the Middle East involving Hafez al-Assad and Yassir Arafat. The findings illustrate ongoing themes in Swiss-EU negotiations and internal political dynamics. Experts…
In Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, residents are returning to a landscape ravaged by years of bombardment from the regime of Bashar al-Assad. While families once fled the violence, many are now confronting the devastation that marks their homeland. The area…
In a significant display of rebellion, Syrian fighters have burned the mausoleum of Hafez al-Assad, the late father of ousted president Bashar al-Assad, in Qardaha. This act follows a series of military victories against the Assad regime by Islamist group…
On December 11, rebels set fire to the tomb of former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in his coastal hometown, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. This act follows recent protests in which demonstrators toppled and defaced statues of…
In a recent episode of the podcast ‘De Dag,’ arabist Leo Kwarten discusses the rapid fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, marking the end of the Assad dynasty that ruled for fifty years. The podcast explores the legacy of…
On December 8, 2024, Syrians across the country celebrated the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad following a rapid offensive by rebel groups, including radical Islamist factions. In cities like Damascus and Hama, jubilant crowds rejoiced at the end of over…
The recent capture of Damascus by rebels, led by radical Islamists, signals the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad and the end of more than five decades of political repression in Syria. Following an offensive, the rebels declared the liberation of…
Demonstrators in the Jaramana suburb of Damascus have toppled the statue of Hafez al-Assad, the former president and father of current President Bashar al-Assad, amid calls for the president’s removal. The protests are primarily driven by the Druze community, which…
Protesters in the suburb of Jaramana, near Damascus, have torn down a statue of Hafez al-Assad, former president of Syria and father of the current president Bashar al-Assad. Witnesses and activists reported that demonstrators, primarily Druze residents, called for the…
In a significant development in Syria’s ongoing conflict, rebels have seized control of Hama and demolished a statue of Hafez al-Assad, the late father of current President Bashar al-Assad. The Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by Abu Mohammed…
