As a supporter of the deposed regime in Syria, Moscow wishes to retain two military bases there as a logistical base for its operations in the Sahel. Moreover, Vladimir Putin's inability to save his Syrian ally is casting doubt among West African juntas on the solidity and reliability of their Russian partner.

Ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad appears to have issued his first statement since the fall of his regime over a week ago, giving new details about his final hours in the country before being evacuated to Russia.

Syria’s iron-fisted leader Bashar al-Assad is the second generation of an autocratic family dynasty that held power for more than five decades and his disappearance amid a lighting rebel advance cap an astonishing reordering of power in a strategically vital Middle Eastern nation.

Israel is celebrating the fall of Assad because it breaks the noose that Iran had been patiently tightening around Israel’s borders in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. Tehran’s pincer is now broken and rendered useless. From the point of view of Israel’s wider conflict with the Islamic Republic, the collapse of Assad’s regime is a strategic victory.

After Hafez’s passing in the summer of 2000, we clung to the hope that the torch he left behind would fall into more compassionate hands. After all, his heir, Bashar al-Assad, was a doctor trained in ophthalmology in London — the birthplace of the Spice Girls! How bad could he be?

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in Russia on Sunday after rebels seized control of Damascus, Russian state media said—a pivotal moment in the years-long civil war against the regime that has controlled Syria since the 1970s.

Syrian leader Bashar Assad issued what appeared to be his first public statement since he was ousted and fled with his family to Russia more than a week ago.

Assad, Syria’s ousted president, has denied claims that he fled the country amid the collapse of his regime, according to a statement posted Monday on the Syrian Presidency's Telegram account.Read Mor