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Bashar al-Assad was dramatically kicked out of power in Syria over the weekend in a shock rebellion, leaving a major power vacuum.
The country is beleaguered after 13 years of civil war and 50 years of the Assad family’s oppressive rule where chemical weapons, barrel bombs, siege and starvation were all used to quash the public.
More than 12 million people were displaced during the war, and 100,000 others just “disappeared” at the hands of the security services.
Syrians everywhere have been celebrating – but it’s far from clear what will happen next.
What will happen to Assad?
Assad fled Syria as soon as he could over the weekend.
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s envoy to international organisations in Vienna, wrote on Telegram on Sunday: “Bashar Assad and his family are in Moscow. Russia never leaves its friends in a trouble.”
Russian president Vladimir Putin reportedly extended the a personal offer of asylum to Assad, according to the Kremlin’s press secretary.
However, he did not say exactly where Assad is, and said Putin was not planning to meet with him.
Which rebel leaders will take power?
It remains unclear which group will emerge on top in the race to lead Syria right now.
The group which led the rebellion against Assad, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), is seen as part of al Qaeda.
That organisation is still on many countries’ proscribed list of terrorist groups – which means, if they seized power, any diplomatic relationship with the west would be pretty difficult.
HTS’s leader, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, also has a huge US $10m bounty on his head.
It’s not known how he will negotiate with the other remaining rebel groups either, like the Sunni Muslim rebels or the Kurdish-led forces which are backed by the States in the fight against IS.
But prime minister Keir Starmer has emphasised that the UK needs to focus on “dialogue with regional allies to reach a political settlement” for now.
His official spokesman said on Monday: “Our focus at the moment is dialogue with regional allies to reach a political settlement.
“As I said, Assad’s regime was barbaric, it took countless lives and the priority now should be the safety of Syrian civilians, as well securing a political solution to evolving events.”
“Our focus now is ensuring a political solution prevails and peace and stability is restored in Syria, we call on all sides to protect civilians and ensure essential aid can reach the most vulnerable in the coming hours and days.”
What’s going on with Israel?
Israel, which borders Syria, has sent its ground troops into Syrian territory for the first time since 1973 October War which ended in a ceasefire the following year.
The Israeli Defence Force says it has passed through the demilitarised border zone in the Golan Heights, which borders Israel, Lebanon and Jordan.
Israel has been operating in Syria for years amid its fight with Hezbollah.
It’s thought that Israel’s ongoing fight against Iran’s proxies – including those in Syria – partially empowered the Syrian rebels to oust Assad.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said: “We gave the Israeli army the order to take over these positions to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel.
“This is a temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found.”
Israel has been hitting targets in Syria to destroy government military assets too, supposedly to avoid them falling into the rebel hands.
Residents in the buffer zone were ordered to remain home “until further notice” – although Israel said it is “not interfering in the internal events in Syria”.
It said its troops would “continue to operate as long as necessary in order to preserve the bugger zone and defend Israel and its civilians”.
What about Russia and Iran?
Assad’s fall is a major blow to his two main allies, Iran and Russia – but it’s not clear if they have completely washed their hands of the country now.
The two nations have been propping up Assad’s regime as a means to maintain their own footholds in Syria.
Syria helped Iran to access Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, and transfer weapons and ammunitions to the militants.
Hezbollah is particularly reliant on that right now, as it is weakened after a year of war with Israel.
Meanwhile, Moscow relied on its Syrian connections to send its mercenaries across the Middle East and Africa. It also had two military bases in the country.
Russia also has different priorities at the moment, distracted by the Ukraine war which is draining its resources.
Putin is also desperately pushing ahead on the frontline in an effort to take as much Ukrainian land as possible before US president-elect Donald Trump gets into power and calls for a ceasefire.
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