Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
06-12-2024
DAMASCUS/ HAMA: The Syrian government said its counteroffensive has pushed back opposition fighters attempting to advance to the strategic central city of Hama, while opposition forces say they captured more Syrian troops and Iran-backed fighters in fierce battles.
Forces opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have staged their biggest advance in years over the past week, capturing large parts of the northern city of Aleppo, the country’s largest, as well as towns and villages in southern parts of the northwestern Idlib province.
The offensive is being led by led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as well as Turkiye-backed opposition fighters known as the Syrian National Army (SNA). Both groups have in recent years entrenched themselves in northwest Idlib province and parts of northern Aleppo, with HTS considered the dominant force.
A video circulating on social media confirmed by media showed HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani on Wednesday surrounded by supporters as he walked in front of the Citadel of Aleppo, a large medieval fortified palace in the centre of the old city.
The war between Assad and his allies including Russia and Iran and the array of armed opposition forces seeking his overthrow has killed an estimated half-million people during the past 13 years.
Syrian state media SANA on Wednesday said opposition fighters retreated some 20km (12 miles) from government-held Hama, Syria’s fourth-largest city, as government troops backed by Russian airpower entrenched themselves in the outskirts.
Fierce fighting has raged for days as Damascus fears that the opposition will make their way into the city as they did over the weekend into Aleppo.
The opposition through its Military Operations Department channel on the Telegram app said they captured five Iran-backed fighters, of whom two were from Afghanistan, as well as three Syrian troops from its 25th Special Mission Forces Division in eastern Hama. The claims could not be independently confirmed.
Wassim, a 36-year-old delivery driver from Hama city, said the sounds were “really terrifying” and the continuous bombing was audible.
“I’ll stay home because I have nowhere else to flee to,” he said.
A Syrian photographer working for the German news agency dpa was killed in an air strike near the city of Hama, the agency said on Wednesday. Anas Alkharboutli, 32, has long documented Syria’s civil war, and worked for the agency from 2017.
If the opposition seize Hama city and control the province, it could leave the coastal cities of Tartous and Lattakia isolated from the rest of the country. Lattakia is a key political stronghold for al-Assad and Syria’s Alawite community, as well as a strategic Russian naval base.
‘Next target will be Damascus’
Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from northwestern Syria’s Menagh military air base, said opposition fighters are “very happy” that Aleppo has been captured.
“Some of the commanders that I have spoken to were from Hama, from Aleppo … they say, they will enter Hama,” Koseoglu said. “Their next target will be Damascus.”
Tens of thousands have been displaced by the fighting, which started last week, Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, said Tuesday.
“If we do not see de-escalation and a rapid move to a serious political process, involving the Syrian parties and the key international players, then I fear we will see a deepening of the crisis,” Pedersen said in an address the UN Security Council. “Syria will be in grave danger of further division, deterioration, and destruction.” (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
