Australian Atheists Forum

stylofone wrote: ↑Sat Dec 07, 2024 9:01 pm

stevebrooks wrote: ↑Sat Dec 07, 2024 7:58 pm Well what a surprise, now that Russia is distracted by Ukraine, and Iran by Israel, the Syrian rebels have decided now is a good time for revolution!

I give them.....well weeks would be generous, these things seem to start out slow and suddenly accelerate, would surprise me is Assad was on a fast plane to Russia in a few days. The only thing that might slow the rebels down is the speed of their advance, ironically. The outright collapse of opposition forces has probably overstretched them a bit.

https://www.news.com.au/world/middle-ea ... 0b2fe7cb87

Wow, so many different players and such a complex web of hate. It's horrifying and fascinating... the Assad regime is a multi-generational nightmare of tyranny, Bashar is a survivor but it's not looking good for him now. Iran and Russia, normally so proficient at bastardry, are on the receiving end right now. An Al Qaeda affiliate is at the vanguard. They all hate America. Turkey is pursuing its own interests. Maybe it will turn out less shit than it was before, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Rumours are swirling over the whereabouts of President Bashar al-Assad, with people logging flights in and out of Damascus to work out whether he might have left.

His office has denied all such reports, saying he's still at work in Damascus, but there has been no sign of him.

The interior ministry says it's creating a ring of steel around the capital. But government forces have notably failed to provide any such defence in cities, towns and villages that have fallen to rebel factions across the country.

Islamist-led rebels declared that they have taken Damascus in a lightning offensive on Sunday, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria.

Residents in the Syrian capital were seen cheering in the streets of Damascus as the rebel factions heralded the departure of “tyrant” Assad and “declare the city of Damascus free”.

The president’s reported departure comes less than two weeks since the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group launched its campaign challenging more than five decades of rule by the Assad family.