The dust of war had barely settled on Lebanese territory after confrontations that lasted about 14 months between… Israel andHezbollahUntil the flames of a conflict that had been dormant under the ashes were reignited in a spot not far away, specifically in SyriaWhile each development cannot be viewed in isolation from the other.
Armed factions began, led by… Hay’at Tahrir al-Shamformerly Al-Nusra Front, in Aleppo Governorate, northwest of the country, its largest attack in years against government forces, killing more than 200 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which indicated that the militants seized several new villages and controlled dozens of kilometers and a main military base belonging to For the Syrian army.
What is the relationship between the two wars?
Observers see that Armed groups It may seek to exploit the vacuum left by Hezbollah in Syria, after the strong blow it received from Israel over the past months.
Hezbollah lost its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah And almost all of the leaders of the first rank went through the most violent confrontation with Israel.
And you wish Syrian armed factions In progress to regain areas it lost control in 2016, after an attack by Syrian government forces with the support of its ally Russia.
The British Chatham House Institute stated that Hezbollah, which entered the confrontation line with Israel as of October 8, 2023 in support of the Gaza Strip, is facing harsh criticism from most sectors of Lebanese society because of its “unilateral decision.”
The Institute believes that “the operation backfired and led to the outbreak of a devastating conflict that resulted in the deaths of about 4,000 people in the country.” LebanonMass displacement and massive damage to infrastructure in the south of this country.”
The institute says that Hezbollah and its main supporter, Iran, “will never admit this, but they have suffered a strategic setback. Their goal was to connect all the regional battlefields in which Iran had influence to exhaust and confuse Israel, but this did not happen.”
A setback for Iran
In the first serious challenge in 4 years to Syria and its most prominent supporters, Russia and…IranThe militants advanced east from the area Idlib The remainder is under the control of Syrian factions, which have been in a state of stalemate since Moscow and Ankara agreed to a ceasefire in 2020.
The British newspaper “Financial Times” considered this progress to be the biggest setback for Syria and its support, Iran, in years.
A prominent officer was killed in the fighting in Syria Iranian Revolutionary GuardAnd a large number of armed men Factions loyal to Tehran.
The Syrian army described the ongoing attack as a “huge and widespread terrorist attack using medium and heavy weapons,” according to a statement published by the official news agency (SANA).
The Financial Times said, “This progress shows how the balance of power in war-torn Syria has changed during a year of conflict in the broader Middle East. While the protests and subsequent armed demonstrations in Syria have been forcefully put down, Damascus has come under pressure on multiple fronts, and has become… An arena for great power competition.
