Syrian president Assad vows counter-attack against Islamist rebels after Aleppo defeat, as US urges calm
1 December 2024, 07:14 | Updated: 1 December 2024, 09:23
Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad has vowed to "defeat the terrorists" after rebels took control of his country's second-largest city, reigniting a bloody civil war.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The dictator said he would defend Syria's "stability and territorial integrity" and "defeat the terrorists and their supporters", after the insurgents largely overran Aleppo on Saturday, following a lightning attack that appeared to take the Syrian army by storm.
Assad, who is backed by Russia and Iran, said the government forces would defeat the Islamist rebel forces no matter what it took.
The rebels are led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), who are thought to be linked to Al Qaeda. Assad himself has been accused of overseeing war crimes over the course of the civil war, in which hundreds of thousands have died.
The fighters are moving south after taking control of Aleppo, towards the capital, Damascus.
Fighters said they had taken control of the entirety of the northern Idlib governorate, and also claimed to have taken over several towns and cities in the Hama governorate.
There were conflicting claims over whether the city of Hama had been taken, or whether it was still in government control.
Over 300 people have been killed in the latest round of fighting, including dozens of civilians, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
And a rebel leader may have been killed in a Syrian army airstrike, local media reported.
Russia is said to have fired its military leader in Syria amid the rebel push, although this has not been confirmed.
Colonel Philip Ingram, a former British Army intelligence officer, said: "What you find is that whenever things start to go wrong, they will start to round on the leaders and start the blame game.
"One of the indications of it going very badly wrong is whenever you get reports coming out of generals being sacked," he told MailOnline. "If this shows how concerned Putin is with everything, it's quite clear that the Syrians and Russians that are backing them have been caught off guard.
He added: "It is a typical response from dictatorships to deny that there's any problem that's going on when the complete opposite is out in the public domain. Again, it suggests that things for the Assad regime are in a very bad position."
The US said it was monitoring the situation and urged de-escalation - while insisting its forces had "nothing to do" with the rebels' offensive.
"The Assad regime's ongoing refusal to engage in the political process outlined in UNSCR 2254, and its reliance on Russia and Iran, created the conditions now unfolding, including the collapse of Assad regime lines in northwest Syria.
"At the same time, the United States has nothing to do with this offensive.
"The United States, together with its partners and allies, urge de-escalation, protection of civilians and minority groups, and a serious and credible political process that can end this civil war once and for all with a political settlement consistent with UNSCR 2254."
Political commentator on rebels seizing control in Aleppo
The Turkey state-run Anadolu Agency reported that the opposition insurgents entered Aleppo city centre on Friday, but offered no further details.
Syria's state media reported earlier on Friday that projectiles from insurgents landed in the student accommodation area at Aleppo's university in the city centre, killing four people, including two students.
Public transportation to the city had also been diverted from the main road linking Aleppo to the capital Damascus to avoid clashes, state-controlled media reported.
This week's advances are the most intense fighting in north-western Syria since 2020, when government forces seized areas previously controlled by opposition fighters.
Syria's armed forces said the insurgents are violating a 2019 agreement that de-escalated fighting in the area, which has been the last remaining opposition stronghold for years.
