A boy waves the Syrian opposition flag in Hama after its fighters took control of the city on Dec. 6, 2024. (Credit: Omar Haj Kadour/AFP)
Unbelievable... There is no other word to describe the lightning-fast advance of the opposition coalition — comprising rebels and Islamists — in northern Syria. In just a few days, it has captured Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, followed by Hama, and its fighters are now heading toward Homs as these lines are written.The astonishment is complete, both due to the military preparedness of the opposition and the political rhetoric of this coalition, particularly that of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which accompanies these conquests. Adding to this is the spectacular collapse of loyalist forces.Nothing seems capable of halting the advance of this rebel coalition, which has seized hundreds of armored vehicles, artillery pieces, tons of ammunition, and weapons it had never managed to acquire in 13 years of conflict: anti-aircraft...
Unbelievable... There is no other word to describe the lightning-fast advance of the opposition coalition — comprising rebels and Islamists — in northern Syria. In just a few days, it has captured Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, followed by Hama, and its fighters are now heading toward Homs as these lines are written.The astonishment is complete, both due to the military preparedness of the opposition and the political rhetoric of this coalition, particularly that of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which accompanies these conquests. Adding to this is the spectacular collapse of loyalist forces.Nothing seems capable of halting the advance of this rebel coalition, which has seized hundreds of armored vehicles, artillery pieces, tons of ammunition, and weapons it had never managed to acquire in 13 years of conflict:...