Inside over per week of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launching an offensive towards Assad’s regime from its de-facto-controlled northwest space of Idlib, the insurgent group is ready to dethrone President Bashar-al Assad. Assad has been in energy for the final 24 years and sustained it through the 14-year civil conflict towards a number of terrorist factions together with Islamic State. Listed here are 10 factors concerning the emerged conditions:
- President Assad’s whereabouts stay unknown and there are rumours that he had fled the nation. Though, Syria’s state media denied social media rumors and stated that he’s performing his duties in Damascus.
- Making fast advances, the HTS-led rebels haven’t reached the gates of Damascus. “Damascus awaits you,” stated HTS chief Ahmed al-Sharaa in an announcement addressed to insurgent fighters on Telegram, utilizing his actual identify as an alternative of his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.
- The rebels have declared their full management over the third-largest metropolis of Homs after capturing Aleppo and Hams. As per reviews, the rebels have made profitable and fast development in areas which had been the stronghold of Assad and supplied him energy through the civil conflict.
- The advances prior to now week had been among the many largest lately by opposition factions, led by a bunch that has its origins in al-Qaida and is taken into account a terrorist group by the U.S. and the United Nations.
- The Syrian military has withdrawn from a lot of the southern a part of the nation, leaving extra areas, together with a number of provincial capitals, underneath the management of opposition fighters. For the primary time within the nation’s long-running civil conflict, the federal government now has management of solely three of 14 provincial capitals: Damascus, Latakia and Tartus.
- US President-elect Donald Trump has stated that his nation ought to keep out of the escalating battle in Syria, declaring in a social media submit, “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT.”
- Eight key nations together with Saudi Arabia, Russia, Turkey and Iran gathered with the UN particular envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen on the sidelines of the Doha Summit. Pedersen, known as Saturday for pressing talks in Geneva to make sure an “orderly political transition.” Talking to reporters on the annual Doha Discussion board in Qatar, he stated the scenario in Syria was altering by the minute.
- Assad’s largest help was from Russia and Iran. It was anticipated that at occasions of uncertainty, fighters from Hezbollah would pour in. Nonetheless, the protracted Russia-Ukraine conflict and Israel-Hezbollah strikes have considerably weakened their capabilities to help Assad. Russian International Minister Sergey Lavrov stated he feels “sorry for the Syrian folks.”
- In the meantime, Lebanon stated it was closing all its land border crossings with Syria apart from one which hyperlinks Beirut with Damascus. Jordan closed a border crossing with Syria, too.
- In Damascus, folks rushed to top off on provides. Many retailers within the capital had been shuttered, a resident informed The Related Press, and people nonetheless open ran out of staples akin to sugar. Some had been promoting objects at thrice the traditional worth. 1000’s went to Syria’s border with Lebanon, attempting to go away the nation.
(With inputs from companies)