The Syrian army, Russia increased airstrikes with the aim of reducing the progress of the opposition | Syrian War News

Syrian and Russian warplanes have stepped up airstrikes on the city of Idlib and positions in Aleppo as President Bashar al-Assad’s government tries to slow the advance of opposition forces.

Monday’s attack follows major gains by opposition groups over the past few days that have turned the tide of the Syrian conflict.

The dramatic advance of the opposition coalition in Syria, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has slowed slightly in the past 24 hours, according to Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from the Turkey-Syria border.

“The advance of the Syrian opposition continues on the battlefield, but not as fast as before. The urgency has slowed down as efforts by officials to discuss the problem have increased over the past two days,” Koseoglu said.

However, opposition forces are still on the outskirts of Hama, south of Aleppo. Elsewhere, they have captured most of the town of Tel Rifaat, where the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are seeking a humanitarian corridor to allow Kurds to leave safely.

Meanwhile, a member of the Syrian opposition has pledged to continue fighting until the government agrees to political changes. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, the sixth day of a rebel offensive that forced Syrian government forces out of the city of Aleppo, Istanbul-based opposition leader Hadi al-Bahri said: “We are ready to negotiate from tomorrow.”

To counter the pressure of the rebels, a large number of Iraqi forces supported by Iran crossed into Syria overnight to strengthen the defense of the Syrian army, according to reports.

The forces include Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah and Fatimiyoun groups, another military official told Reuters news agency, saying they were being deployed “to help our partners on the northern lines”. Iran also plans to keep military advisers in Syria, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.

Al-Assad’s main backers Russia and Iran have ignored the Syrian government, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian promising to provide “all necessary support” to push back the rebels in a call with the Syrian leader.

He also echoed the words of Iranian diplomat Abbas Araghchi, who visited al-Assad on Sunday before going to Ankara, Turkey, which supports the opposition in Syria.

“Due to consensus in many areas and differences of opinion with Turkey in some cases, we hope to reach an understanding that will bring stability to the region and prevent Syria from becoming a base for terrorist groups,” Araghchi was quoted as saying by the Iranian government. the media as they say.

In a joint press conference following the meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that Ankara continues to support the territorial integrity of Syria, adding that “there is a need for consensus between the Syrian government and the opposition”.

Turkiye, a former supporter of opposition groups in Syria, on Monday rejected suggestions that “foreign interference” was behind the attacks launched by fighters in the north of the country.

“It would be a mistake at this time to try to explain the events of Syria by any foreign interference,” said the Turkish foreign minister, blaming the lack of dialogue between the opposition groups and al-Assad’s government.

But the Syrian president says the opposition’s opposition was an attempt to redraw the map of the region in line with American interests.

“The rise of terrorists shows the far-reaching goals of dividing the region and dividing its countries and redrawing the map in line with the goals of the United States and the West,” al-Assad said in a statement from his office after the call. calls with Iranian President Pezeshkian.

The latest fighting marks the most significant turning point in the years of Syria’s war, which began with popular uprisings across the country in 2011. As of 2020, the front lines have been lined up by opposition groups mostly contained in a small part of Idlib province. .

But in just a few days, that suddenly changed, as HTS and its allies pressed into Aleppo and beyond, initially encountering little resistance.

“This is a big change,” Jean-Marc Rickli, head of global and emerging risks at the Geneva Center for Security Policy, told Al Jazeera. The opposition was “very well prepared”, facing an army that was “not very motivated or armed”.

Ultimately, the success of the rebel campaign, Rickli said, will depend on whether Russia, which provides the Syrian government with vital air support, and Iran, whose forces are now in trouble, hold their ground.

“How big are these characters [Russia and Iran] will agree to make sufficient force to stop these different [opposition] groups, that’s a different story,” he said.