The Syrian regime has rushed in reinforcements to hold off a rebel advance into the Hama countryside, after the insurgents seized the country’s second city Aleppo in the biggest threat to autocratic ruler Bashar al-Assad in years.
In tandem, Russian and Syrian warplanes pounded the rebel-held enclave of Idlib in the northwest, for a second consecutive day. Residents said one of the raids hit a crowded residential area, killing at least seven people and wounding dozens.
Following a shock offensive, insurgents, led by the islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), took over most of Aleppo on Saturday, forcing the army to redeploy. This shift altered frontlines that had been frozen since 2020. The insurgents marched south, taking control of towns along the road to Hama, which they also claimed to have entered.
Syria’s army – which is propped up by Russia, Iran, and their proxies – claimed it had recaptured several towns that had been taken by the rebels in recent days.
In remarks published on state media, Assad said: “Terrorists only know the language of force and it is the language we will crush them with”.
But rebel commander Colonel Hassan AbdulAziz told The Independent in a statement that the regime’s claims were untrue. He asserted that insurgents had completely taken control of the Idlib countryside and were pushing back Assad’s forces in the eastern and southeastern countryside of Aleppo.
“The forces continue to advance southward in the northern countryside of Hama, approaching the outskirts of the city and its airport,” he said.
In the centre of Aleppo, residents hiding in their homes said they were shocked at how quickly regime forces fled.
“They took the center of Aleppo in a few hours; it was very, very sudden,” said Abu Obaida, who added that families were sheltering at home for fear of Russian and regime strikes which pounded multiple areas of Aleppo on Satur day.
“The people are happy with the opposition, but they are scared of regime and Russian planes,” he said . “All the people are in their homes. They only go out for bread or medicine, but everything else is closed. We are worried about a large-scale attack from Russia.”
In the towns south of Aleppo – once strongholds of Syria’s opposition – residents displaced to Idlib were able to check their homes for the first time in five years, after regime forces had taken control.
“I don’t have words to explain what I’m feeling,” said Omar, a journalist displaced to Idlib who returned to his family home in Maarat al-Numan.
“I never thought we could return,” he added.
Thousands of opposition forces launched a surprise attack on regime positions late last week, taking control of Aleppo and other areas that had been regime strongholds.
