Anti-government fighters inspect a tank, left behind by fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in the northern Syrian town of Tal Rifaat on December 2, 2024. (Credit: Aref Tammawi/AFP)
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on Monday branded the Syrian opposition offensive that has captured swathes of territory an attempt to redraw the regional map in line with U.S. interests.
For the first time since the Syrian war began in 2011, the Assad regime, an ally of Iran and Russia, lost complete control of Aleppo, the country's second-largest city, a stinging setback inflicted by a coalition including the radical Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and Syrian rebel factions — some of which are backed by Ankara. As a response, Syrian and Russian air raids carried out further strikes on areas under rebel control in the northwestern Idlib province, killing 11 civilians including five children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
To everyone’s surprise, HTS and rebel factions, strongly present in Idlib, launched a huge offensive, seizing dozens of localities as well as the northern city of Aleppo, barring Kurdish-inhabited neighborhoods.
Assad sought the support of his allies in the face of the assault, which killed more than 457 people. According to the SOHR, casualties were mainly fighters but included more than 72 civilians.
In a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Massoud Pezeshkian, Assad said that "the terrorist escalation" was aimed at "dividing the region, fragmenting the countries, and redrawing the map in line with the objectives of the United States and the West."
Multiple players
The violence witnessed in the last few days has been the first of its kind since 2020. It has raised fears of the resumption of large-scale hostilities. The country is in fact divided into several zones of influence, where warring factions are supported by various regional and international powers.
Turkey, which borders Syria, as well as Iran, Russia and the United States, have a military presence in the country. The war that started with the brutal repression of pro-democracy demonstrations has killed about half a million people.
The start of the rebel offensive coincided with the entry into force of a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah — Assad and Iran’s ally. Thanks to military support from Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, the Assad regime succeeded in turning the tide of the war in 2011 by retaking control of much of the territory, and then all of Aleppo in 2016.
Russia is monopolized by its war against Ukraine, but the country, which has several bases in Syria, chose to help Assad and his forces to "push back" rebel factions. As for Iran, it reiterated its "firm" support for the Assad regime. Its Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, met Turkish officials in Ankara after meeting with Assad.
‘A mistake’
"At this stage, it would be a mistake to assimilate the events happening in Syria to any foreign interference," said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Turkey controls several areas of northern Syria and supports several rebel factions in the country.
AFPTV footage showed rebels in military fatigues patrolling Aleppo's streets. Some set fire to a Syrian flag or Assad’s image, while others waved the revolution flag. Although the streets appeared to be mostly empty, Syrians came out to cheer the advancing fighters. The latter "are trying to be benevolent" and "distributed free bread at crossroads" on Sunday, said a resident over the phone. The rebels reached Aleppo's historic citadel and seized government buildings, prisons and Aleppo's international airport "without encountering significant resistance," said the SOHR.
In a joint statement on Sunday, the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom called for "de-escalation" in Syria, stressing the urgency of a "political solution."
The United States, which also has soldiers on the ground in northern Syria, supports the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which have been fighting the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) in Syria.
Kurdish/rebel front
The SDF is working to "safely" evacuate Kurdish civilians from Aleppo province, notably the town of Tell Rifaat, to their "safe zones in northern Syria", where they have established an autonomous administration, said their leader Mazloum Abdi.
On Sunday, HTS announced that they had seized Tell Rifaat from Kurdish forces near the Turkish border, where around 200,000 Syrian Kurds are surrounded, according to the SOHR.
HTS and rebel groups controlled much of the Idlib province, as well as parts of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia provinces. Before they launched their offensive, northwestern Syria was under a precarious calm, by virtue of a cease-fire established in 2020, sponsored by Ankara and Moscow.