After over five decades of Assad family rule, President Bashar al-Assad has fled Damascus as rebel forces breach the Syrian capital. The Alawite dynasty, established by Hafez al-Assad in 1970, maintained power through strategic manipulation of sectarian divisions. Bashar, inheriting power in 2000, failed to implement reforms, leading to the 2011 uprising and subsequent civil war.
Meet the Assads: How rebel forces toppled Syria’s decades-long dynasty
