This aerial picture shows a bullet-riddled portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad adorning Hama's municipality building after it was defaced following the capture of the city by anti government fighters, on December 6, 2024. Rebel forces pressing a lightning offensive in Syria aim to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad's rule, their Islamist leader said in an interview published on December 6. In little over a week, the offensive has seen Syria's second city Aleppo and strategically located Hama fall from Assad's control for the first time since the civil war began in 2011. (Photo by Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP)