On Friday, November 29, Russian and Syrian planes carried out 23 intensive attacks against the city of Idlib and its region, the last jihadist and rebel stronghold in northwest Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) reported. , an NGO based in the United Kingdom but with an extensive network of sources in Syria. These raids come as fighters from Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTC, Levant Liberation Organization) and groups allied to them, some of which are close to Turkey, which controls Idlib, launched a vast offensive against areas controlled by the Syrian regime.
The jihadists entered on Friday afternoon. “in the western and southwestern districts” from Aleppo, OSDH director Rami Abdel-Rahmane told Agence France-Presse (AFP). He reported, mid-afternoon, that the jihadist and rebel forces had “ took control of five neighborhoods » of the city, while the regime forces “he didn’t put up much resistance “. Two witnesses confirmed to AFP that they had seen armed men and reported panic in the large city in northern Syria. That same day, the jihadists and their allies had reached “ almost 2 kilometers » of Aleppo, said Rami Abdel-Rahmane.
Even according to the OSDH, the combatants “It took control of more than 50 cities and towns in the Aleppo and Idlib regions” that were in the power of the regime. The NGO also reports that fighting reached the strategic regime-held city of Saraqeb on Friday, located south of Aleppo, at the crossroads of two roads. Jihadists and their allies on Thursday cut off the vital highway linking the capital, Damascus, with Aleppo. For its part, the Syrian army stated “repel the major offensive launched by armed terrorist groups (…) »adding have “was able to regain control of certain positions”.
The most violent clashes since 2020
According to the official Syrian agency SANA, the jihadists bombed the large city for the first time in four years, targeting the university campus, where four civilians were killed. In total, the death toll from the fighting since the start of the offensive launched on Wednesday amounts to at least 255 dead, most of them combatants, the NGO said. The OSDH reported the death of 24 civilians, including 19 in attacks by Russian aircraft, allied to the regime, in rebel areas.
At a press conference, the head of ” government “ Idlib’s self-proclaimed leader, Mohammad Al-Bashir, justified Thursday’s offensive by saying that the regime had “They began bombing civilian areas, causing the exodus of tens of thousands of civilians”.
These are the most violent clashes since 2020 in northwest Syria, where the province of Aleppo, largely in the hands of the Bashar Al-Assad regime, borders the last major rebel and jihadist stronghold of Idlib.
More than 14,000 displaced people, according to the UN
The Kremlin asked the Syrian authorities on Friday to “put order in this area as soon as possible and restore constitutional order”its spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, told the press, denouncing the current offensive as a “attack on the sovereignty of Syria”. The Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abbas Araghtchi, for his part, “underscored Iran’s continued support for the Syrian government, nation and military in their fight against terrorism”during a phone call with his Syrian counterpart, Bassam Al-Sabbagh. For his part, the spokesperson for the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked “ END ” to “ attacks » about the city of Idlib and its region. “ We ask for an end to the attacks. “The recent clashes have generated an unwanted escalation of tensions in the border region.”wrote on the social network
The memorable world
Test your general knowledge with the writing of “Le Monde”
Test your general knowledge with the writing of “Le Monde”
Discover
This is Turkey’s first official reaction since the start of the jihadists’ lightning offensive against the Syrian regime, which took them to Aleppo, the country’s second city, in two days. “It is of utmost importance for Türkiye to avoid a new phase of even greater instability and that civilians are not affected”estimates the ministry, which highlights that “maintain calm in Idlib and the border region (…) It is a priority for Türkiye ».
The UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that “More than 14,000 people, almost half of whom are children, have been displaced” due to violence. Northern Syria has benefited from an uneasy calm in recent years, made possible by a ceasefire established after a regime offensive in March 2020.
The truce was sponsored by Moscow with Türkiye, which supports some Syrian rebel groups on its border. The Syrian regime regained control of much of the country in 2015 with the support of its Russian and Iranian allies. The civil war in Syria has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions.
