Syria's revolutionary flag raised at Istanbul Consulate in Türkiye

By Hamdi Dindirek

ISTANBUL (AA) — Syria's revolutionary flag was raised over the country’s consulate in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul on Monday, a day after the collapse of the decades-old Baath regime in Damascus.

Consulate staff removed the flag used by the Bashar al-Assad regime from the balcony on Sunday and replaced it with the revolutionary flag, which was hoisted early in the morning.

After a period of relative calm, clashes between Assad regime forces and anti-regime groups reignited on Nov. 27 in rural areas west of Aleppo, a major city in northern Syria.

Over 10 days, opposition forces launched a lightning offensive, capturing key cities and then, on Sunday, the capital Damascus. The rapid advance, supported by defecting military units, led to the collapse of the Assad regime after 13 years of civil war.