As predicted, the revolution in Syria has reignited

I am no fortune teller and, of course, I do not know the future — only God knows that — but I know how revolutions around the world have progressed through history, from their rise to their fall. “The Syrian revolution exposed the treachery and betrayal of those closest to it, but the story is not complete; no ending has been written yet,” I wrote in March on the anniversary of the Syrian revolution. “Revolutions, like wars, have many twists and turns until the decisive hour strikes and the curtain falls. Do not be deceived by the butcher Assad remaining president. The flame of the revolution is burning in the conscience of every free Syrian, waiting for the moment for it to reignite on the ground.”

That is how I ended my article. I had considered the revolutionary scene in Syria deeply, watching the internal pressure among the Syrian people and the violence, tyranny and criminality of the brutal regime of the Syrian Baath Party, led by Bashar Al-Assad. The vision became clear to me, and I became certain that this oppressed and wounded people would heal their wounds quickly and rise up to complete the revolution after the East and the West, the near and the far, came together to thwart it. The earth shook beneath the feet of the killer Assad, and he was on the verge of collapse, had it not been for Iranian and Russian intervention.

History will record Friday, 29 November, 2024, as a memorable day, not only in Syria, but also in the chronicles of revolutions.

The free Syrian revolutionaries were able to liberate Aleppo, the economic capital of Syria and its largest city, which had been subjected to severe pressure since Assad Senior seized power in 1970.

In 2016, the Syrian revolutionaries had taken control of Aleppo completely before Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, led by the late Qasem Soleimani, killed and slaughtered the Syrians, burned everything to the ground, and displaced Aleppo’s people who survived the massacre, replacing them with Shia militias from Iran, Lebanon (Hezbollah), Iraq (Popular Mobilisation Forces) and Afghanistan.

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Liberating Aleppo was thus necessary to restore the balance in addressing the Syrian issue after the killer president felt that the situation had stabilised and that things were in his favour. He had gone back to engaging with the Arab and Islamic world and being invited to attend major summits after ten years of isolation, ostracized within his palace and far from his people.

The liberation of Aleppo has re-emphasised the need for a political solution in Syria instead of the military and security solution being imposed by the brutal regime, as the city represents a quarter of Syria’s population and a third of the Syrian economy. Hence, with it no longer being under the control of the regime makes the regime confused and weak in the eyes of the Syrian people, especially its Alawite supporters. It is seen as weak and unable to rule Syria despite its relative control since 2020, making it urgent to resolve the dilemma of the Assad family’s monopoly of power.

The Syrian opposition surprised everyone with its extensive attack on the regime forces, which it called a “deterrence of aggression”, in response to the artillery shelling by the regime in Damascus. This raised many questions about its timing, the speed with which opposition forces moved against the regime, and their control of Aleppo and areas in Hama, Idlib and other places, especially since this attack was launched on the eve of the announcement that the Zionist entity and Hezbollah agreed a ceasefire in Lebanon. This is why some sought to link the opposition’s launch of the battle to expand its area of control with seizing the opportunity of Hezbollah’s weak presence in Syria to defend the Assad regime, as well as Russia’s preoccupation with its war with Ukraine. It was a rare opportunity for the opposition.

The liberation of Aleppo revealed the fragility of the Iranian axis that infiltrated Syria and formed a state within a state.

Syrian state forces have not been controlled by the regime and Assad has become a useless ghost of a figure. There is no doubt, therefore, that the liberation of Aleppo is the beginning of the project to rebuild Syria as a state run along the lines of international laws and conventions. It is unreasonable for parties to control Syria separate from the legal definition of an independent state.

Syria and the region are facing a major challenge that requires regional, Arab and international cooperation to impose stability and return Iran to its borders after it has contributed to the sedition in the Arab world. It was also the reason for the destruction of Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. Will the liberation of Aleppo signal the re-ordering of civilisation across the region? I ask the question in hope and some degree of optimism.

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The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.