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The Syrian military has rushed reinforcements to push the rebels from advancing further into northern Hama after they seized Aleppo and surrounding strategic sites in the neighboring province in a surprise offensive.
Rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham seized most of Aleppo on Saturday and claim to have entered the city of Hama. There was no independent confirmation of their claim.
Rebel commander Colonel Hassan Abdulghani said rebels also took control of Sheikh Najjar, also known as Aleppo Industrial City, northeast of the city, the Aleppo Military Academy and the Field Artillery College in the southwest.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was scheduled to travel to the Syrian capital Damascus later on Sunday. He told reporters that Tehran would support the Syrian government and army.
The swift and sudden offensive is a major embarrassment for Syrian President Bashar Assad and raises questions about the readiness of his armed forces. It also comes at a time when Assad’s allies – Iran and Russian-backed groups – are preoccupied with their own conflicts.
Syrian state television claims government forces have killed nearly 1,000 rebels in the past three days, without providing evidence or details.
Government airstrikes overnight Sunday on the city of Idlib, a rebel-held bastion near Hama province and 65 kilometers southeast of Aleppo, killed four civilians and wounded 54 others, according to the Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, which operates in the areas under the control of the opposition.
According to the Syrian state news agency SANA and a war monitor, the army pushed back the rebels in the northern part of Hama province overnight.
Britain-based opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government reinforcements had created a “strong defensive line” in the northern village of Hame.
The Observatory and the Syrian state news network Al-Ikhbariyah also reported Russian airstrikes, both in Idlib and in some areas now under rebel control.
In his first public comments since the start of the offensive, reported by the state news agency on Saturday night (early Sunday AEDT), Assad said Syria would continue to “defend its stability and territorial integrity against terrorists and their supporters”.
He added that Syria is capable of defeating them no matter how much their attacks intensify.
The 2016 battle for Aleppo was a turning point in the war between Syrian government forces and rebel fighters after protests against Assad’s rule in 2011 turned into all-out war.
After the rebels appeared to have lost control of the country, the battle for Aleppo has secured Assad control of strategic areas of Syria, with opposition factions and their foreign backers controlling areas on the periphery.
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