The regime of the Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad completely lost control of Aleppothe second city in the country, for the first time since the conflict began in Syriasaid an NGO this Sunday.
The group Hayat Tahrir al-Shamformer Syrian branch of Al Qaeda, and other allied rebel factions ““They control the city of Aleppo, except the neighborhoods controlled by the Kurdish forces.”he told the agency AFP Rami Abdel Rahmandirector of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).
“For the first time since the conflict began (…) The city of Aleppo escapes the control of the Syrian regime forces“said Rahman, whose organization is based in the United Kingdom and has an extensive network of informants in Syria.
A coalition of rebel groups dominated by Islamists and including fighters backed by Türkiye launched a lightning offensive on Wednesday in northern Syria against government forces, which are supported by Russia e Iran. Two days later, they entered Aleppo and they took a strategic city located on the highway that connects Aleppo with the capital Damascus and the coast.
On Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the insurgents they had taken over Aleppo international airport controlthe first one they control. The fighters claimed to have taken over the airport and released images from there.
The insurgents were also filmed in front of the police headquartersin the center of the city, and in front of the Aleppo citadelthe medieval palace located in the historic center of the city and one of the largest in the world. They tore down posters of Assad, stepped on some, and burned others.
Additionally, in a symbolic act that reflects the advance of rebel groups in the city after a lightning offensive against government forces, gunmen on Saturday toppled a statue of Bassel al-Assad, brother of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Thousands of fighters also advanced, with little opposition from government forces, to take cities and towns in northern Hamaa province in which they had a presence before being expelled by government troops in 2016. They claimed on Saturday night to have entered the city of Hama.
The rapid and surprise offensive is a huge shame for dictator Bashar al Assad, and poses questions about the preparation of its armed forces. The insurgent offensive launched from its stronghold in the northwest of the country appeared to have been planned for years. It also comes at a time when Assad’s allies were preoccupied with their own conflicts.
The operation coincided with the entry into force of a fragile ceasefire in the neighboring Lebanon between Israel and the Lebanese pro-Iran movement Hezbollah after two months of open war.
In this context, the US government attributed the success of the rebel offensive in the north to “the Assad regime’s continued opposition to initiating a political process outlined in United Nations Security Council resolution 2254 and its dependence on Russia and Iran.”
In his first public comments since the start of the offensive, carried by the state news agency on Saturday night, Assad said Syria will continue to “defend its stability and territorial integrity against terrorists and their supporters.”. He added that Syria is capable of defeating them no matter how much their attacks intensify.
Türkiyeone of the main supporters of Syrian opposition groups, said that his diplomatic efforts had failed to stop the attacks of the government against areas controlled by the opposition in recent weeks, which violated a de-escalation agreement sponsored by Russia, Iran and Ankara. Turkish security officials said a limited rebel offensive had been planned to stop government attacks and allow civilians to return, but the offensive widened as Syrian government forces began withdrawing from their positions.
On Saturday night, The rebels had seized at least four towns in the central province of Hama and they claimed to have entered the provincial capital. The insurgents staged an attempt to recapture areas they controlled in Hama in 2017, but failed.
Syria’s armed forces said in a statement on Saturday that to absorb the major attack on Aleppo and save lives, They redeployed troops and equipment and were preparing a counterattack. The statement acknowledged that the insurgents had entered large areas of the city, but stated that they had not established bases or checkpoints. Later Saturday, the military sought to dispel what it said were lies in reference to the reports on the withdrawal or desertion of their forcessaying that the general command was carrying out its functions in the “fight against terrorist organizations”
The return of insurgents to Aleppo was the first since 2016after an exhausting military campaign in which Assad’s forces had the support of Russia, Iran and their allied groups.
The 2016 battle for Aleppo was a turning point in the war between Syrian government forces and rebel fighters after 2011 protests against Assad’s government turned into an all-out war. After it seemed that the rebels were losing control of the country, the battle of Aleppo strengthened Assad in strategic areas of Syriawhile opposition factions and their foreign supporters controlled peripheral areas.
The lightning offensive threatens rekindle the country’s civil warlargely stagnant for years.
(With information from AFP and AP)
