As Bashar Assad fled to Moscow, looters started raiding the presidential palace and people took the streets of Damascus to celebrate his demise. The Syrian president had tried to hang on until the bitter end, still desperately sending an SOS to anyone who would listen, including U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. The despot had run out of road.

The world is still grasping the speed of events in recent days, and the collapse of a ruling dynasty that laid waste to the country during a catastrophic civil war. But the implications are also quickly sinking in — and not least the prospect of more upheaval and violence as groups tussle for control.

Assad had managed to endure the popular uprising against him for more than 13 years. But the message from his one-time allies and foes was clear: You’re on your own. Russia, which had saved his skin back in 2015, only offered him sanctuary this time. Iran turned its back on him by saying in not so many words that he had brought it all on himself.