The fall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad earlier in December has set millions of Yemenis thinking about what lies in store for their own country. Some say the fall of the Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen – who control Sanaa and much of northern and western Yemen – may be the “next surprise” in the region.

A lightning rebel offensive early this month caught Syria’s ruling clan off guard. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia on December 8, leaving behind many of his collaborators, some of whom sought refuge in neighbouring countries.

Israel is celebrating the fall of Assad because it breaks the noose that Iran had been patiently tightening around Israel’s borders in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. Tehran’s pincer is now broken and rendered useless. From the point of view of Israel’s wider conflict with the Islamic Republic, the collapse of Assad’s regime is a strategic victory.

An overnight curfew was imposed by Syria’s ruling Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebel group after 14 members of the Syria’s interior ministry were killed in what they described as an ambush by supporters of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.