The Syrian regime has rushed in reinforcements to hold off a rebel advance into the Hama countryside, after insurgents seized the country’s second city Aleppo in the biggest threat to autocratic ruler Bashar al-Assad in years.
In tandem, Russian and Syrian warplanes pounded the rebel-held enclave of Idlib in the northwest for a second consecutive day. Residents said one of the raids hit a crowded residential area, killing at least seven people and wounding dozens.
Following a shock offensive, insurgents led by the Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took over most of Aleppo on Saturday, forcing the army to redeploy. This shift altered front lines that had been frozen since 2020. The insurgents marched south, taking control of towns along the road to Hama, which they also claimed to have entered.
Syria’s army – which is propped up by Russia, Iran, and their proxies – claimed it had recaptured several towns that had been taken by the rebels in recent days.
In remarks published on state media, President Assad said: “Terrorists only know the language of force, and it is the language we will crush them with.”
But rebel commander Colonel Hassan Abdul Aziz told The Independent in a statement that the regime’s claims were untrue. He asserted that insurgents had completely taken control of the Idlib countryside, and were pushing back Mr Assad’s forces in the countryside to the east and southeast of Aleppo.
“The forces continue to advance southward in the northern countryside of Hama, approaching the outskirts of the city and its airport,” he said.
In the centre of Aleppo, residents hiding in their homes said they were shocked at how quickly the regime’s forces had fled.
“They took the centre of Aleppo in a few hours; it was very, very sudden,” said Abu Obaida, who added that families were sheltering at home for fear of Russian and regime strikes, which pounded multiple areas of Aleppo on Saturday.
“The people are happy with the opposition, but they are scared of regime and Russian planes,” he said. “All the people are in their homes. They only go out for bread or medicine, but everything else is closed. We are worried about a large-scale attack from Russia.”
In the towns south of Aleppo – once strongholds of Syria’s opposition – residents displaced to Idlib were able to check their homes for the first time in the five years since regime forces took control.
“I don’t have words to explain what I’m feeling,” said Omar, a journalist displaced to Idlib who returned to his family home in Maarat al-Numan. “I never thought we could return,” he added.
Thousands of opposition forces launched a surprise attack on regime positions late last week, taking control of Aleppo and other areas that had been regime strongholds.
The insurgents include a coalition of Turkey-backed mainstream secular armed groups along with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group that is the opposition’s most formidable military force. Once aligned with al-Qaeda, it is now designated a terrorist group by the US, Russia, Turkey, and others, although it has spent years distancing itself from its jihadi past.
The war, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions, has dragged on since 2011 with no formal end. Most major fighting halted years ago after Iran and Russia helped Mr Assad’s government to regain control of most of the country, including all of its major cities.
In a show of support, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi was set to travel to the Syrian capital Damascus later on Sunday, telling reporters that Tehran would back the Syrian regime and army. This comes at a time when Hezbollah, another key ally of the Syrian regime, has been severely weakened by Israeli attacks.
President Assad’s other major ally, Russia – whose brutal air campaign helped him retake Aleppo after it was last seized in 2016 – is also preoccupied with its war in Ukraine. However, reports on Saturday claimed that Moscow had again taken part in airstrikes, with monitors saying dozens of civilians had been killed.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Sunday that regime forces had sent in heavy reinforcements and set up a strict defence line in the city of Taybat Al-Imam and towns in the countryside north of Hama.
Syrian state television claimed that government forces had killed nearly 1,000 insurgents over the past three days, without providing evidence or details. This toll is significantly higher than the figure recorded by war monitors.
Overnight, government airstrikes on Idlib city, the rebel-held bastion near Hama province, killed four civilians and injured 54 others, according to the Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, which operates in opposition-held areas.
At least 372 people have been killed since the fighting began earlier this week, SOHR reported on Sunday. This includes 114 members of the regime’s forces and their proxy militias. The toll also includes 48 civilians, most of whom were killed in airstrikes, according to war monitors.
In his first public comments since the start of the offensive, released by the state news agency on Saturday evening, Mr Assad insisted his regime would continue to “defend its stability and territorial integrity against terrorists and their supporters”.
He emphasised that Syria is capable of defeating the rebels, even if their attacks intensify.
Yet the swift and surprise offensive is a huge embarrassment for President Assad, and raises questions about the preparedness of his armed forces.
The 2016 battle for Aleppo was a turning point in the war between Syrian government forces and rebel fighters. After the 2011 protests against Assad’s rule turned into an all-out war, the fall of Aleppo secured the president’s hold on strategic areas of Syria, with opposition factions and their foreign backers controlling areas on the periphery.
Speaking from Aleppo on Friday, Abd Alghani al-Aryan, a journalist from Idlib who joined the forces sweeping into Aleppo, said it was his first time entering the city in 13 years.
“The regime is collapsing dramatically,” he said.
“It feels like a dream. I can’t even describe it,” he told The Independent from inside the city. “The regime’s return is out of the question, especially if they accept the current reality in the region – especially after losing its most critical elements that were protecting it: Russian airpower, followed by the Iranian and Lebanese militias, particularly Hezbollah.”
Additional reporting by agencies
