Syria\u2019s second-largest city Aleppo fell from govt control for first time since conflict began more than a decade ago
\n Washington
\nThe United States on Saturday said Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad lost control of Aleppo because of his reliance on Russia and Iran.
\nSyria\u2019s \u201creliance on Russia and Iran,\u201d along with its refusal to move forward with a 2015 peace process outlined by the UN Security Council, \u201ccreated the conditions now unfolding,\u201d National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement.
\nHe added: \u201cAt the same time, the United States has nothing to do with this offensive, which is led by Hay\u2019at Tahir al-Sham (HTS), a designated terrorist organization.\u201d
\nSyria\u2019s second-largest city Aleppo has fallen from government control for the first time since the country\u2019s conflict began more than a decade ago, a war monitor said on Sunday, after a surprise advance by rebels.
\nRebel alliance has pressed a lightning offensive against forces of the Iranian- and Russian-backed Syrian government since Wednesday, the same day a fragile ceasefire took effect in neighbouring Lebanon between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after two months of all-out war.
\nThe Syrian army \u2013 supported by Russian air power \u2013 had recaptured in 2016 rebel-held areas of Aleppo, a city dominated by its landmark citadel.
\nDamascus also relied on Hezbollah fighters to regain swathes of Syria lost to rebels early in the war which began in 2011 when the government crushed protests. But Hezbollah has taken heavy losses in its fight with Israel.
\n The jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied rebel factions \u201ccontrol Aleppo city, except the neighbourhoods controlled by the Kurdish forces,\u201d Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
\nFor the first time since the conflict started, \u201cAleppo city is out of control of Syrian regime forces,\u201d Abdel Rahman said. Several northern districts inside Aleppo are predominantly inhabited by Syrian Kurds under authority of the People\u2019s Protection Units (YPG), the main component of the Syrian Democratic forces.
\nThe SDF are the de facto army in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northeast Syria. They are a US-backed force that spearheaded fighting against the Islamic State group jihadists before IS\u2019s territorial defeat in Syria in 2019. Separately, the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied rebel factions seized Aleppo\u2019s airport and dozens of nearby towns on Saturday after overrunning most of Aleppo, the Observatory said.
\nTanks seized
\nDamascus ally Moscow responded with its first air strikes on Aleppo since 2016.
\nPrior to this offensive, HTS, led by Al-Qaeda\u2019s former Syria branch, already controlled swathes of the Idlib region, the last area outside President Bashar al-Assad\u2019s government control, in Syria\u2019s northwest. HTS also held parts of neighbouring Aleppo, Hama and Latakia provinces. Allied Turkish-backed rebel factions have also been taking part in the offensive.
\nThe fighting has killed more than 370 people, most of them combatants but also including at least 48 civilians, according to the Observatory, which has a network of sources inside Syria.
\nThe Observatory said rebel advances came with little resistance.
\nThe Observatory on Sunday said the army strengthened its positions around Syria\u2019s fourth largest city Hama, about 230 kilometres (140 miles) south of Aleppo, and sent reinforcements to the north of the surrounding province.
\nSyria\u2019s defence ministry said army units in Hama province \u201creinforced their defensive lines with diverse means of fire, equipment and personnel\u201d, fighting to prevent a rebel advance.
\nRebels took dozens of towns across the north, including Khan Sheikhun and Maaret al-Numan, roughly halfway between Aleppo and Hama, the Observatory said.
\nSome welcomed the rebels\u2019 arrival.
\n\u201cYesterday was my wedding but I didn\u2019t distribute sweets,\u201d Khaled al-Yussef said, holding up pastries beside a car. \u201cI\u2019m distributing them today in celebration of the liberation of Maaret al-Numan.\u201d
\n\u2018Weak\u2019 government
\nBut in Idlib on Sunday, bodies lay in a hospital and vehicles were torched in the street, AFP images showed, after what the Observatory called Russian air strikes.
\nAir strikes also occurred Saturday in Aleppo, where an AFP photographer saw charred cars, including a minibus. Inside one car, the body of a woman lay slumped in the back seat with a handbag beside her.
\nRussian air strikes on parts of Syria\u2019s second city are the first since 2016.
\nAaron Stein, president of the US-based Foreign Policy Research Institute,\u201c said \u201cRussia\u2019s presence has thinned out considerably and quick reaction air strikes have limited utility\u201d.
\nHe said the rebel advance is \u201ca reminder of how weak the regime is\u201d.
\nAnother analyst, Dareen Khalifa of the International Crisis Group think tank, said the rebel alliance see their action in a \u201cbroader regional and geostrategic shift\u201d, including when \u201cthe Iranians are weakened\u201d.
\nSyria\u2019s \u201creliance on Russia and Iran\u201d, along with its refusal to move forward with a 2015 peace process outlined by the UN Security Council, \u201ccreated the conditions now unfolding\u201d, said US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett.
\nThe United States maintains hundreds of troops in Syria\u2019s northeast as part of an anti-jihadist coalition.
\nDiplomacy
\nIran\u2019s top diplomat, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left Tehran for Damascus to deliver what state media said would be a message of support for Syria\u2019s government and armed forces.
\nAraghchi again called the surprise rebel offensive a plot by the United States and Israel and vowed that \u201cthe Syrian army will once again win\u201d.
\nAssad vowed to defeat the \u201cterrorists\u201d, however big their attacks.
\n\u201cTerrorism only understands the language of force, and that is the language which we will break it and eliminate it with, whoever its supporters and sponsors are,\u201d he said.
\nRussia, whose air support was previously decisive in helping Syria\u2019s government win back lost territory, joined Iran in expressing \u201cextreme concern\u201d over their ally\u2019s losses.
\n\u201cStrong support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic was reaffirmed,\u201d the Russian foreign ministry said in a summary of a call between its top diplomat, Sergei Lavrov, and Araghchi.
\nSince 2020, the Idlib rebel enclave has been subject to a Turkish- and Russian-brokered truce that had largely been holding despite repeated violations.
\nLavrov also spoke with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Saturday and agreed on the need to \u201ccoordinate joint action to stabilise the situation\u201d, Moscow said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Syria\u2019s second-largest city Aleppo fell from govt control for first time since conflict began more than a decade ago Washington The United States on Saturday said Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad lost control of Aleppo because of his reliance on Russia and Iran. Syria\u2019s \u201creliance on Russia and Iran,\u201d along with its refusal to move forward […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":446871,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-446859","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n