Syria war timeline: Assad's fall followed years of bloodshed and division

The collapse of Assad's rule in Syria after a 14-year rebellion marks a key moment in a devastating civil war.

The sudden collapse of Bashar al-Assad's rule over Syria marks the culmination of a nearly 14-year rebellion and a key moment in a civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced half the population and drew in outside powers.

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This is how it unfolded:

The first protests against Assad quickly spread across the country, and are met by security forces with a wave of arrests and shootings.

Some protesters take up guns and military units defect as the uprising becomes an armed revolt that will gain support from Western and Arab countries and Turkiye.

A bombing in Damascus is the first by al Qaeda's new Syrian affiliate, the Nusra Front, which gains in power and starts crushing groups with a nationalist ideology.

World powers meet in Geneva and agree on the need for a political transition, but their divisions on how to achieve it will foil years of U.N.-sponsored peace efforts.