On 29 November 2024, during the 2024 seizure of Aleppo by Syrian opposition forces of the Military Operations Command, a large statue of Bassel al-Assad, Bashar's deceased brother, was destroyed by Syrian revolutionaries. The event received global media coverage and symbolized the collapse of Assad forces in Aleppo.[1]
Background
editSyrian fighters filmed themselves outside police headquarters, in the city center, near the Aleppo Citadel.
The video showed Syrian revolutionaries toppling the statue by tying it to rope that is attached to a moving pick up truck.
The footage circulated online, and was aired by Sky News and the Washington Post.[2] Some media outlets drew comparisons to the 2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue.[3]