Partisan in the sense of - there is a clear bias for the new regime, and against the old one. Not the literal sense. Note the weasel words from the first few paragraphs:

- "dictator"

- "henchmen"

- "conducted from the shadows"

- "regime"

- "brutal crushing"

- "pro-democracy uprising"

- "rebels"

One paragraph is almost entirely weasel words:

"But his most egregious action in the city, many argue, was his alleged involvement in the so-called Eid Massacre, known by some as the Children's Massacre, which the US noted when sanctioning him."