Syria witnesses death of 717 journalists, arrest of 1,358 others

(MENAFN) Since March 2011, Syria has seen 717 journalists killed and 1,358 arrested, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights. At dawn on Sunday, the brutal 61-year rule of the Arab Socialist Baath Party collapsed, with the regime of Bashar al-Assad losing control of the capital, Damascus, to armed opposition factions.

The Baath Party seized power in Syria in a 1963 coup, and Hafez al-Assad later took control of the party in 1970, becoming president. After his death in 2000, his son Bashar al-Assad inherited the regime. In 2011, a popular uprising demanding freedom was met with violent repression by the regime, leading to thousands of deaths and plunging the country into civil war. Despite international calls for diplomacy, Assad chose to continue using force to quell protests, sparking an extended armed conflict.

On Sunday, as citizens filled the streets of Damascus, regime forces began withdrawing from public institutions and key areas, while opposition factions solidified their control over central Damascus, marking the end of the Baath regime's 61-year reign and 53 years under the Assad family.

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