Syrian Troops Reposition Amid Regional Tensions and Assad’s Russia Visit
-
Roshan Amiri - . November 29, 2024
- . Update: November 29, 2024 6:53 pm
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has landed in Moscow as tensions rise in Syria.The visit comes at a time of heightened turmoil in Syria and conversations are expected to center on the current situation and bilateral cooperation between Russia and Syria. Preparations are ongoing for a summit between Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It is reported Thursday that Syrian militant groups have started a massive assault on government controlled and gained territories in northwest Syria – Aleppo. The government and its supporters responded by using shelling and airstrikes to stop the insurgent advances.
Syria’s military forces claimed on Thursday that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which controls a large portion of northwest Syria was behind the offensive which is against a de-escalation deal.
Social media footage that has been going viral since Wednesday shows HTS and affiliated troops making tremendous gains, seizing vast tracts of land and moving quickly toward Aleppo’s outskirts.
According to the statement, several villages and military installations have been the target of the ongoing attacks.
Thousands of families have been uprooted by the violence and relief organizations have been compelled to halt part of their operations.
At least 18 people including three children and two women were killed in two distinct villages in western Aleppo as a result of airstrikes as per the records of the volunteers with the Syrian Civil Defense also known as the White Helmets.
Russian warplanes were responsible for the bombings according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights which is a war monitor.
Although most of those forces have so far not participated in the operation, reports indicate that certain rebel groups connected to the Syrian National Army which is supported by Turkey have joined.
The goal of the operation is to reestablish the Idlib de-escalation zone’s borders which were first decided upon by Iran, Turkey and Russia in 2019.
The troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad including Hezbollah and militias supported by Iran took further territory near Aleppo in 2020 in breach of the deal, Russian and Syrian government attacks had shrunk the de-escalation zone.
The new operation aims to return rebel authority over the eastern portion of Idlib to the initial boundaries that Iran, Russia and Turkey agreed upon.
