Flames sweep through the criminal security branch of Syria's Interior Ministry in Damascus on Dec 8, 2024. – AFP
LONDON (AP): Half a century of rule by the Assad family in Syria crumbled with astonishing speed after insurgents burst out of a rebel-held enclave and converged on the capital, Damascus, taking city after city in a matter of days.
Opposition forces swept across the country and entered Damascus with little or no resistance as the Syrian army melted away. President Bashar Assad, Syria's ruler for 24 years - succeeding his father, Hafez Assad - was reported to have fled the country for an undisclosed location.
