Within 24 hours of its launch, an internet petition to remove former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's publicly announced knighthood surpassed its goal of 50,000 signatures, garnering nearly 100,000 as of early Sunday.

Blair has long faced criticism for his decision to lead the UK into Iraq and Afghanistan, which resulted in the deaths of 179 British service members and thousands of Iraqis and Afghans.

Angus Scott launched the petition following Blair's receipt of the New Year Honours, revealed annually on 31 December. It pleaded with Queen Elizabeth II to absolve her of the honor.

Scott characterized Blair, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007, as "the least deserving person of any public honor wreaking "irreparable damage to both the constitution of the United Kingdom and the very fabric of the nation's society."

"He was personally responsible for the deaths of numerous innocent civilians and military over a number of conflicts. He should be held liable for war crimes for this alone "Scott continued, referring to Blair's engagement in the Iraq war of 2003.

Iraq's war cost hundreds of thousands of lives, caused millions of refugees, and split the country until now.

Many people expressed their thoughts on Twitter in the aftermath of the ennoblement. Liam Young, a political commentator, wrote: "The man should be in The Hague's dock. What a dreadful day."

Australian journalist John Pilger, based in the United Kingdom, wrote: "The elite's contempt for the population has never been more eloquently stated than in the decision to bestow the highest order of knighthood on Tony Blair. One million Iraqis were killed, three million displaced, a bloody trail leading to 7/7. Ascend, Sir Tony!"

Numerous others called for a rewrite of the honors system, which one user dubbed the "favour a friend" list.

In light of Blair's knighthood, a 2012 Sunday Times article reappeared on social media platforms, stating that Blair's government considered petitioning the Queen for the honorary knighthood bestowed on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

According to official documents, discussions about the honor began before Assad's 2002 visit to the United Kingdom, during which he desired "as much pomp and ceremony as possible."

Assad faces war crimes charges for ruthlessly crushing pro-democracy demonstrations in his country in 2011, which escalated into full-fledged warfare. Additionally, his rule is accused of human rights crimes.

At least 500,000 people have been killed in Syria's civil conflict, which has caused the world's biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War and left most of the country in ruins.