The Syrian civil war has undeniably reached a turning point. Syrian government forces and their allies have routed the rebels in the eastern side of the city of Aleppo, once the country’s largest and most thriving metropolis. Aleppo lies in ruins, its population terrified by a relentless assault by the Syrian army, with the support of Russia, Lebanon’s Shiite militia Hezbollah and other Shiite forces organized and backed by Iran.
The eastern districts of Aleppo had been under rebel control since 2012. Their fall marks the most significant setback suffered by the forces seeking an end to the dictatorship of President Bashar al-Assad. It now seems extremely unlikely that rebels will succeed in toppling Assad. And yet, this momentous victory for the regime does not mean that Assad will be able to relax anytime soon.
There are many reasons for that. One of them is that the war is far from over. The other, more important one is that when the war does end, even with Assad still at his palace in Damascus, he will have every reason to keep looking over his shoulder. Assad will be paranoid and frightened, with good reason.