BEIRUT: Thousands of Syrian insurgents took over most of Aleppo, establishing positions in the city and controlling its airport before expanding their shock offensive to a nearby province.
They faced little to no resistance from government troops, according to fighters and activists.
A war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the insurgents led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham seized control of Aleppo International Airport, the first international airport to be controlled by insurgents.
Thousands of fighters moved on, facing almost no defense from government forces, to seize towns and villages in northern Hama, a province where they had a presence before being expelled by government troops in 2016. They claimed Saturday evening to have entered Hama city.
The surprise offensive is a huge embarrassment for Syria’s President Bashar Assad and raised questions about his armed forces’ preparedness.
The insurgent offensive launched from their stronghold in the country’s northwest appeared to have been planned for years. It comes at a time when Assad’s allies were preoccupied with their own conflicts.
In his first public comments since the start of the offensive, released by the state news agency Saturday evening, Assad said Syria will continue to “defend its stability and territorial integrity against terrorists and their supporters.”
He added that Syria is able to defeat them no matter how much their attacks intensify.
Turkey, a main backer of Syrian opposition groups, said its diplomatic efforts had failed to stop government attacks on opposition-held areas in recent weeks, which were in violation of a de-escalation agreement sponsored by Russia, Iran and Ankara.
Turkish security officials said a limited offensive by the rebels was planned to stop government attacks and allow civilians to return, but the offensive expanded as Syrian government forces began to retreat from their positions.
(VOA/AP)
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