The authorities issued an alert this Friday (6) for their citizens to leave immediately, while commercial flights are still available. The State Department justified the appeal based on “volatile and unpredictable” security conditions, marked by intense clashes between armed groups throughout Syrian territory. The warning coincides with a lightning offensive by Islamist rebels against the president’s regime. Since the start of the operation on November 27, insurgents led by the Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) group have captured strategic cities such as Aleppo, Hama and parts of Homs province, approaching the capital, .
HTS, classified as a terrorist organization by and by countries such as the USA, has declared that its objective is to “overthrow the regime” of Assad. The group’s leader, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, said they will use “all available means” to achieve this goal. The offensive has already resulted in the deaths of more than 800 people, including more than 100 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).
Bombardments by Syrian and Russian forces attempt to contain the insurgent advance, but strategic positions continue to be taken by the rebels. In Homs, for example, regime forces retreated, while thousands of residents, especially from the Alawite community, fled to the Mediterranean coast. The crisis has left more than 370,000 people displaced, according to the UN, most of them women and children. In Sweida, regime officials abandoned administrative buildings, and in Hama, residents tore down statues of former president Hafez al-Assad, Bashar’s father.
The rebel advance has reignited regional concerns. Russia, Assad’s main ally, has urged its citizens to leave Syria and stepped up its military assistance to the government. Iran, another ally of the regime, classified the offensive as a threat to stability in the region. On the other hand, Turkey expressed support for the rebels. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that he wanted the opposition advance to continue “without incident”.
Meanwhile, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) began occupying areas abandoned by the government. The leader of the SDF, Mazlum Abdi, highlighted that the current scenario represents a “new political and military reality” in the country and indicated openness to dialogue with rebels and even Turkey. Syria has been in civil war since 2011, with more than 500,000 deaths and the country divided into zones controlled by different factions, each supported by foreign powers. The recent rebel offensive is the most significant since 2020, marking an escalation in the conflict and increasing instability in the Middle East.
*With information from AFP
Published by Felipe Cerqueira
