In London, Syrians congregated in Trafalgar Square, while refugees staged impromptu celebrations in Istanbul.
He came to “celebrate getting rid of a dictator who oppressed our country for 50 years,” according to Muhamad Khatib, who ran a vehicle rental business close to El-Hamidiyah, Syria.
Since Bashar’s father, Hafez Assad, overthrew the government in a coup in 1971, the Assad family has controlled Syria.
Russia and Iran, longtime friends who deployed soldiers and planes to defend it in 2015 and spent millions of dollars to do so,
Have suffered a serious setback with the fall of the government. Despite claims that Russia had been compelled to leave.
Its Tartus naval facility, a Kremlin official said the opposition commanders had promised the protection of Russian diplomatic missions and military sites within Syria.
