Sources said in Syrian army Armed factions said that militants in the last enclave outside government control in northern Syria launched a large-scale military operation against the army on Wednesday, and took control of territory, in the first advance of its kind in years.
A source in the operations room, which is run by a coalition of armed factions led by… Hay’at Tahrir al-ShamThe attack swept through at least 10 sites under the control of Syrian government forces in the governorate Aleppo.
This progress is the first of its kind since March 2020, when Russia, Syria’s ally, and Turkey, which supports opposition factions, agreed to a ceasefire that led to an end to the military confrontations in the factions’ last major stronghold in northwestern Syria.
Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, which the United States classifies as a terrorist organization, has long been a target of Syrian government forces and Russian forces. The group competes with armed factions supported by Turkey and also controls vast areas of territory along the border with Turkey, in northwestern Syria.
Latest developments
A Syrian military source said that the militants advanced and were approximately 10 kilometers from the outskirts of the city of Aleppo, and a few kilometers from the towns of Nubl and Al-Zahraa, where there is a strong presence of the Lebanese Hezbollah, which is supported by… Iran.
They also attacked Al-Nayrab Airport, east of Aleppo, where armed factions loyal to Tehran are stationed.
More than 130 Syrian soldiers and militants from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and other factions were killed in the violent clashes that broke out between the two sides, according to a new tally by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Thursday.
The militants say that the attack came in response to “the escalation of strikes in recent weeks against civilians by the Russian and Syrian air forces in areas south of IdlibAnd in anticipation of any attacks by the Syrian army, which is mobilizing its forces near the confrontation lines with the militants.
A military source stated that the army bombed areas near the city of Idlib, which is under the control of armed factions, the cities of Jericho and Sarmada, and other areas south of Idlib Governorate.
Eyewitnesses said that hundreds of families fled to safer areas along the Turkish border.
The significance of timing and the nature of goals
The manager spoke Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdel Rahman, about the significance of the timing of the attack on the Syrian army.
Abdul Rahman told Sky News Arabia on Thursday that the advance of the armed factions “is the first since 2020,” considering that “the battle was prepared by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham with the support of an external party that we have not known for several months. This party may be US Or other. “A country is the one that gave the green light to the authority.”
He continued: “How was the timing chosen? The war in Lebanon stopped (referring to the ceasefire between… Israel And Hezbollah) and the battle began in Idlib. “There is a synchronicity that does not come out of nowhere.”
Abdul Rahman confirmed that “before this battle, there were officers from Eastern Europe training Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham to use drones in the region.”
The director of the Observatory said: “The battle was prepared to begin as soon as there was a war in southern Syria, if Israel thought of invading Quneitra, the western countryside of Daraa, and the southwestern Damascus countryside, but it began after the war in Lebanon stopped.”
Regarding the goals of the “external parties” that Abdul Rahman spoke about, from his point of view, they are “re-shuffling the cards inside Syrian territory.”
He continued: “If Turkey has a hand in the matter, it may be trying to pressure the Syrian regime to bring it to the dialogue table.”
He concluded his speech: “Everyone is now waiting for (the American president-elect) Donald Trump To come in order to change the areas of control in Syria.”
