Syria's fragile truce shattered as rebels seize Aleppo
The President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, stated that the Islamic rebels who have taken control of Aleppo and areas in the Idlib province aim to redraw the region's map according to the interests of the United States, reported the Times of Israel portal.
Syrian and Russian armed forces have carried out attacks on areas controlled by Islamists and rebels supported by Turkey since last week's offensive.
In a phone conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeszkian, Assad emphasised that "the escalation of terrorism reflects long-range goals of dividing the region and disbanding the countries within it," as conveyed by his office.
Russia and Iran, Assad's allies, confirmed their readiness to support the Syrian army in the fight against groups that took control of Aleppo last week. Russian aviation participated in raids on rebel positions, and Iran sent to Syria armed formations financed by itself from Iraq.
The conflict in Syria has been ongoing since 2011, when authorities brutally suppressed pro-democracy protests. Since then, foreign powers and jihadists have been involved in the fighting, and the death toll has reached 500,000 people.
After years of clashes, Assad's army regained control of most of the country. Until last week, the conflict remained in a state of stasis, but the Islamist offensive broke this deadlock.
As noted by the Lebanese portal L'Orient le Jour, in 2016 Hezbollah played a key role in the victorious government forces' offensive. Recently, however, Iran and the terrorist groups it finances have reduced their presence in Syria, focusing on priority anti-Israeli fronts.
This, among other things, allowed the rebels, after four years of stalemate, to oust Assad's regime from Aleppo – the second largest city in Syria – over one weekend and begin an attack on Hama, located to the south, the portal reported.
