Syria announced on Wednesday that its counteroffensive has successfully pushed back insurgents who were attempting to advance towards the strategic central city of Hama. This development comes amidst reports from the insurgency claiming to have captured more Syrian troops and Iran-backed militants in intense battles.
The recent escalation in Syria's long-standing civil war follows the capture of significant portions of the northern city of Aleppo by forces opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad. Additionally, towns and villages in the southern parts of the northwestern Idlib province have also been seized by these opposition forces.
The conflict between Assad and his foreign supporters on one side, and the various armed opposition groups seeking his ouster on the other, has resulted in an estimated half-million casualties over the past 13 years.
Syrian state media reported that insurgents have retreated approximately 20 kilometers from government-held Hama, the country's fourth-largest city. Government troops, with the backing of Russian airpower, have fortified their positions on the city's outskirts as fierce fighting continues. There are concerns in Damascus that the insurgents may attempt to infiltrate Hama, similar to their recent advance into Aleppo.
The insurgency, through its Military Operations Department channel on the Telegram app, claimed to have captured five Iran-backed militants, including two from Afghanistan, as well as three Syrian troops from the 25th Special Mission Forces Division in eastern Hama. These claims have not been independently verified.
If the insurgents manage to seize control of Hama city and the province, it could potentially isolate the coastal cities of Tartous and Lattakia from the rest of the country. Lattakia, a crucial political stronghold for Assad and Syria's Alawite community, also hosts a strategic Russian naval base.
Tens of thousands of individuals have been displaced by the recent fighting, which commenced last week, according to Geir Pedersen, the U.N. special envoy for Syria. Pedersen warned that without de-escalation and a swift transition to a substantive political process involving Syrian parties and key international stakeholders, the crisis in Syria could worsen, leading to further division, deterioration, and destruction.
The insurgency is primarily led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadi group, and the Syrian National Army, an umbrella organization of Turkish-backed Syrian militias. These groups, along with Turkey, argue that Assad must engage with opposition forces and incorporate them into any political resolution to end the conflict.
Efforts to de-escalate the situation have been made, with Turkish and Iranian officials engaging in discussions earlier this week. Arab nations bordering Syria, which previously supported groups aiming to overthrow Assad, have expressed concerns about the regional implications of the conflict and have voiced their support for the Syrian president's stance.
