Part 2/13:
Just last week, Syria experienced a seismic political upheaval. Rebel forces launched a rapid and overwhelming offensive culminating in the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad's government, ending over five decades of authoritarian rule by the Assad family. The collapse was so swift that Assad, who once battled rebels into submission around 2015-2016 with Russian support, fled to Moscow, effectively losing control of the country.