Syrian opposition fighters stand atop a captured Syrian army tank in the town of Maarat al-Numan, southwest from Aleppo, Syria, Saturday Nov. 30, 2024. Thousands of Syrian insurgents have fanned out inside Syria’s largest city Aleppo a day after storming it with little resistance from government troops.(PHOTO: AP/Omar Albam)
CHANNEL NEWS ASIA | Published December 2, 2029
BEIRUT: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sought to shore up support from his allies on Sunday (Dec 1), after a monitor said a shock rebel offensive saw government forces lose control of Aleppo for the first time since the start of the country’s civil war.
A rebel alliance attacked forces of the Iranian- and Russian-backed government on Wednesday, the same day a fragile ceasefire took effect in neighbouring Lebanon between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah after two months of all-out war.
The Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and allied factions now “control Aleppo city, except the neighbourhoods controlled by the Kurdish forces”, Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP.
For the first time since the civil war started more than a decade ago, “Aleppo city is out of control of Syrian regime forces”, he said.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travelled to Damascus on Sunday to meet Assad, saying before his departure that Tehran would “firmly support the Syrian government and army”, Iranian state media reported.
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SOURCE: www.channelnewsasia.com
RELATED: Syria’s embattled Assad seeks to shore up support after Aleppo loss
An aerial view shows the town of Saraqib in the eastern part of the Idlib province in northwestern Syria on December 1, 2024. – Government forces lost control of Syria’s second city Aleppo on on December 1, for the first time since the country’s civil conflict began, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, after a lightning offensive dealt a severe blow to President Bashar al-Assad. (Photo by Aaref WATAD / AFP)
CHANNEL NEWS ASIA | Published December 2, 2029
BEIRUT: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sought to shore up support from his allies on Sunday (Dec 1), after a monitor said a shock rebel offensive saw government forces lose control of Aleppo for the first time since the start of the country’s civil war.
A rebel alliance attacked forces of the Iranian- and Russian-backed government on Wednesday, the same day a fragile ceasefire took effect in neighbouring Lebanon between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah after two months of all-out war.
The Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and allied factions now “control Aleppo city, except the neighbourhoods controlled by the Kurdish forces”, Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP.
For the first time since the civil war started more than a decade ago, “Aleppo city is out of control of Syrian regime forces”, he said.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travelled to Damascus on Sunday to meet Assad, saying before his departure that Tehran would “firmly support the Syrian government and army”, Iranian state media reported.
After the talks, Assad emphasised “the importance of the support of allies and friends in confronting foreign-backed terrorist attacks”.
The Observatory said Russian aircraft staged deadly strikes Sunday in support of the government.
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SOURCE: www.channelnewsasia.com
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