"Al-Assad became hugely unpopular as people found it harder and harder to survive, including his soldiers, the majority of whom did not want to fight for him."

"Militarily as well, the al-Assad regime has been weak for years, relying on Russian and Iranian military support to prop it up.
But, analysts say, Russia is bogged down in its invasion of Ukraine and Iran and their Lebanese ally Hezbollah have been damaged by Israeli attacks – they could not come to the rescue of the faltering Syrian army."