In Syria, this Saturday, rebels declared that they had “begun to encircle” Damascus, after seizing nearby towns in the most spectacular offensive in thirteen years of war. In the process, government forces would have withdrawn from localities around ten kilometers from the capital. At the same time, a meeting dedicated to Syria began in Qatar in the presence of the foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey.
20 Minutes takes stock of this renewed tension, while, more weakened than ever, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whom the insurgents say they want to overthrow, has not made an appearance in public since last Sunday.
What do the rebels control?
In ten days this time, rebels seized dozens of localities and two of the main Syrian cities during a dazzling offensive. Thus, led by the Islamists of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), from the former Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, these rebels from northern Syria declared this Saturday that they had “begun to encircle” Damascus , after seizing nearby towns. “Our forces have begun the final phase of encircling the capital,” said a senior rebel coalition commander, Hassan Abdel Ghani.
These rebels had left from the Idlib enclave in the northwest of the country, which was then the main bastion of the armed opposition. After Aleppo, they then progressed towards Hama (center), the fourth Syrian city which they took control of on Thursday. The rebel coalition arrived at the gates of Homs, 150 km from the capital Damascus.
Rami Abdel Rahmane, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), told AFP that local rebel fighters also controlled the entire Daraa province, the cradle of the 2011 uprising against Bashar al’s regime. -Assad returned to government control in 2018.
Where are the government forces?
Supported militarily by Moscow, Iran and Hezbollah, the regime had regained control of two-thirds of Syria. But today it only holds the province of Homs, which is threatened, the capital Damascus (also threatened, therefore) and a large part of the coast (north-west).
The Syrian army confirmed on Saturday that it was redeploying in the two provinces of Daraa and Soueida. On the other hand, they would have withdrawn from localities located around ten kilometers from Damascus, said the OSDH, which added that they had also abandoned their positions in the province of Qouneitra, which borders the Golan Heights annexed by Israel. But in the afternoon, the Syrian Defense Ministry denied that the army had withdrawn from areas near Damascus, ensuring that it was not retreating.
What do the Kurds and jihadists control?
Supported by Washington, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF, dominated by the Kurds) dominate northeast Syria, and controlled part of the province of Deir Ezzor (east), and in particular the east bank of the Euphrates. On Friday, they announced they had deployed to the west bank of the river, with government forces and pro-Iranian groups allied to them suddenly leaving.
As for the jihadists, they have retreated into the vast Syrian desert and continue to carry out bloody attacks against civilians, regime forces and Kurdish forces.
What is Hezbollah doing?
Lebanese Hezbollah sent 2,000 fighters as reinforcements to one of its strongholds in Syria, close to the border with Lebanon, “towards the region of Qousseir and the mountain range separating Syria from Lebanon, to defend its positions” in the event of an attack. attack by the rebels, a source close to the pro-Iranian movement told AFP on Saturday,
The source stressed that the sending of these reinforcements by Hezbollah, which is emerging from a bloody war with Israel having weakened it, was of a “defensive” nature. She assured that the powerful Lebanese formation, which had fought alongside the Syrian government in the past, “did not take part” in the ongoing clashes in Syria. According to this source who refused to be identified, Hezbollah also dispatched “150 military advisors to Homs, to help the Syrian army if it decides to defend” this strategic city.
What is this meeting in Doha?
A meeting dedicated to Syria began in Qatar in the presence of the foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey. These three countries have been partners since 2017 in the so-called Astana process initiated to silence the guns in Syria after the civil war, without being aligned on the same side of the battlefield.
Iran and Russia have long been unconditional supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Turkey, without being directly involved on the ground, sympathetically observes the progress of the rebel movements. Finally, Qatar, where talks are taking place, supported rebels at the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, but the country is now calling for a negotiated end to the conflict.
What are the international reactions?
The United States on Friday called on its nationals to leave Syria. “The (US State) Department urges US citizens to leave Syria immediately, while commercial travel options remain available,” US authorities said in a message posted on social media.
Understanding everything about the war in Syria
Jordan also called on its citizens during the night from Friday to Saturday to leave neighboring Syria “as soon as possible”, the day after Amman closed the only operational crossing point between the two countries. Iran, unwavering support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said this Saturday that a “political dialogue” was necessary between the Syrian government and the opposition. As for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who this week called on Assad to “reconcile with his people”, “hoped” that “the advance of the rebels would continue without incident”, without omitting to openly cite their “objective, Damascus”, seat of Syrian power.
