Chaos in Aleppo; What is Tahrir al-Sham seeking in Syria Square?
Just hours after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and the Zionist regime, terrorists based in Syria, led by Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra), began advancing from Idlib to Aleppo province under the name of the “Fatah al-Mubin” coalition. The rapid advance of this group towards the north and northwest of Aleppo is because due to the ongoing war in Lebanon, part of the operational focus of Hezbollah forces in the southern strip of Idlib has faded. In addition, due to the war in Ukraine, the Russian army has been forced to evacuate many of its military facilities from the Hmeimim base located in the southeast of Latakia or retreat from some military areas near Idlib-Aleppo; an event that has not escaped the eyes of the West.
Also, the series of ongoing developments on the Lebanese front caused Israel to give Turkey and the Syrian opposition the green light to attack Idlib, intensify pressure on Damascus to leave the axis of resistance, and cut off the artery of arms transfer to Hezbollah. Amid this campaign, the main question is whether terrorist groups and Syrian opposition groups intend to exploit the situation and reignite the flames of civil war, given the prevailing conditions in the region, or do foreign powers simply want to use the Syrian opposition card to gain points from Damascus?
For the public, Aleppo is a symbol of the Syrian army’s final victory over the armed opposition during the civil war. This economic hub with a population of 2 million, in addition to hosting industrial complexes, has a strategic communication position connecting the Arabian East to the Mediterranean Sea. The armed opposition’s seizure of the T-5 road indicates the planning of some regional actors to cut off the connection between Aleppo and Damascus. Currently, the armed opposition claims to have captured 20 neighborhoods in Aleppo and areas such as Al-Nab al-Zahra and occupied places such as the governorate, the central checkpoint and the Abu Dhuhr military airport. The Al-Mayadeen network has announced that the area occupied by the terrorists is 60 percent of the geography of Aleppo province.
In the meantime, the Syrian army, supported by the air force, has launched significant counterattacks against the Takfiri enemy, which has led to the retaking of some occupied areas. According to news published by the Syrian army, more than 500 terrorists have been killed so far and dozens of them have been captured.
Despite the continued advance of Tahrir al-Sham terrorists towards the central parts of Aleppo province, it seems that this process has slowed down and they cannot continue advancing like they did in the past two days. Of course, it is expected that the terrorists will continue to advance until the support forces and weapons needed by the Takfiris enter this area, but the key point is whether the armed opposition can maintain the occupied areas without Israeli military-intelligence support or not? After the defeat of the armed opposition in 2018, the armed groups gradually went to the margins and were exiled in areas such as Idlib. Today, however, a wide range of armed opposition groups decided to take advantage of the conflict between Israel and the Zionist regime and turn the losing game in Syria into a victory!