Surprising Advance of Assad's Opponents in Northwest Syria, Thousands Flee Aleppo

Continuing the attacks and advances of the jihadist rebels of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham in the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo in Syria, news agencies report the fall of an army base and their control over 13 more villages in areas that were previously under the control of the central government. These military developments prompted Bashar al-Assad's unexpected visit to Moscow to meet with President Vladimir Putin, but details of his negotiations have not yet been disclosed. However, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, stated on Friday, December 9, that Moscow considers the attacks a violation of Syria's sovereignty and urges Damascus officials to act quickly to restore order in Aleppo. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the number of towns and villages captured by jihadist rebels and lost by Assad's army had increased to 50 areas by Friday noon. A Syrian government security official told AFP that army reinforcements had arrived in Aleppo province and intense clashes were ongoing between them and jihadist forces in western Aleppo, but according to him, the rebels had not reached the center of Aleppo by Friday noon. However, the Associated Press reported that thousands of rebels near Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city, continued their advance and had taken control of several strategic towns and villages. Some reports from the rebels on Friday indicated control over the strategic town of Khan Tuman, but the accuracy of this claim has not been confirmed by independent news agencies. Extremist fighters in their advance shared videos online showing the use of drones and mini-drones, which had not been previously recognized as weapons used by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham against government forces. At least 4 deaths resulted from rocket attacks by jihadist forces on a student dormitory complex in Aleppo on Friday. Multiple social media reports indicate that thousands of residents have fled Aleppo. The death toll from the offensive operations of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and their allied groups, which suddenly began on Wednesday, December 7, along with casualties from Russian airstrikes in this part of Syria, has risen to 255, including 27 civilians, among them children. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors events in Syria from Britain, reported that by early Friday morning, December 9, 102 of the casualties from the recent two-day attacks were from Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, 19 were from allied groups, and 61 were Syrian army personnel. Russian airstrikes in support of the Syrian army on Thursday resulted in at least 19 deaths in combat zones. Extremist jihadists of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham had refrained from such attacks for at least 4 years or lacked the capability to confront the army loyal to Bashar al-Assad. According to the German news agency, members of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham began their attack on Thursday night, moving from Idlib towards Aleppo. Idlib has been under the control of this group since 2019 after it managed to drive other armed groups out of the area. Idlib, with about 4 million residents, was the last part of Syria that Assad's army had not been able to dominate. Besides Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, other rebel groups supported by Turkey are also stationed in Idlib. Turkey has stationed its army forces in the Idlib border strip in recent years to secure its strategic interests. Aleppo is once again witnessing an influx of rebel forces after suffering extensive casualties and destruction during the Syrian civil war from 2012 to 2016. The surprising advance of jihadist forces of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham on Thursday blocked traffic on the international highway number 5 between Damascus and Aleppo and the intersection of this highway with highway number 4, which connects Damascus to the port of Latakia. According to reports, Syrian warplanes, supported by Russian fighters, carried out airstrikes on Thursday in an attempt to prevent the advance of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham. Russian aircraft bombed western Aleppo areas on that day after taking off from the Hmeimim airbase in Latakia province. Reuters reported that Hezbollah forces supported by Iran were also present in some conflict areas. The Islamic Republic of Iran announced on Thursday the death of Brigadier General Kiomars Pourhashmi, a member of the Quds Force, described as an 'advisor' in these attacks. Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham has stated that it has responded to the repeated attacks by Russia and Syria on civilian areas and aims to 'cut off aggression.' This group emphasizes that the Syrian army and the Russian air force stationed in Syria targeted Idlib with bomb-equipped drones, and shelling in the area continued, leading to severe food shortages that made life difficult for civilian residents of Idlib. Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, had confirmed the attacks by Syria and Russia in Idlib over the past months. The Syrian army command stated that its forces faced 'extensive terrorist attacks and a large number of terrorists equipped with medium and heavy weapons' on Wednesday and Thursday and succeeded in inflicting 'significant casualties' on the attackers. The Syrian army referred to 'friendly forces' but did not disclose its own casualties. Despite the airstrikes by Syria and Russia, the Anadolu Agency reported that Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham had approached within 5 kilometers of Aleppo. This agency reported that the rebels controlled over 30 villages and strategic points in western Aleppo in an area of 250 square kilometers. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that 14,000 people, half of whom are children, have been displaced due to this violence. Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, originally known as Jabhat al-Nusra and part of al-Qaeda, declared its separation from al-Qaeda in 2016. Some Western experts on jihadist forces have stated that Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham has attempted to distance itself from extremist ideology to some extent, but this group remains on the terrorist lists of the US, the EU, and the UK. Iranian Reaction The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry described the rebels' attacks in Syria on Thursday night as 'part of the evil plot' of Israel and the US 'to destabilize' the region and warned about the 'resurgence of takfiri groups.' Ismail Baqaei stated that the ongoing attacks, while the areas around Aleppo and Idlib were part of 'de-escalation zones,' represent a gross violation of the 'Astana process agreements' and jeopardize previous achievements. These agreements were reached with Turkey's support. According to Baqaei, the Islamic Republic of Iran supports the Syrian government in decisively confronting 'terrorists' and 'restoring stability and security to Syria.' However, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman did not provide further details on how this support would be implemented or whether Tehran would send fresh troops from its military to assist Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria. Media in the Islamic Republic of Iran have linked the sudden attacks of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib province and their advance towards Aleppo to the ceasefire established between the Israeli army and Hezbollah in Lebanon, raising questions about Turkey's 'behind-the-scenes role' in these events. The website 'Entekhab' in Tehran reported on Thursday that Turkey aims to end Iran's presence in the Mediterranean forever by escalating the crisis in Syria and seeks to implement its plan to 'build a security wall from the Mediterranean to the Iranian border.' Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasized this week the need to construct this wall again. 'Entekhab' noted the 'increased pressure on Iran from a military and diplomatic perspective in the current situation,' adding that the major danger for Iran is that Russia may also find it desirable to sever Iran's ties with Hezbollah, which would lead to a reduction of Tehran's influence in the region.