Resettlement of 280 thousand northern inhabitants Syria deepens the long-standing suffering of the country's civilian population, the World Food Program (WFP) noted in a post on social media.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed on Thursday for international aid for the people of Syria and emphasized that all parties to the conflict are committed to protecting civilians.
Islamist rebels launched a campaign against the troops of Bashar al-Assad's regime on November 27. In their rapid offensive, they have already won, among others: the country's second largest city Aleppo.
On Thursday, jihadists they entered Hamawhich opens the way to Homs. The possible capture of Homs would cut off Damascus from the coast, which is the stronghold of the Alawite religious group, from which Assad comes. There are also some on the coast air and naval bases Russiawhich supports the regime in Damascus. Russian and Syrian air forces conduct airstrikes on rebel-held cities.
Rebel offensive in Syria. The government army withdrew from the fight for Hama
The government army said on Thursday that it was fighting intensively for maintaining Hamabut ultimately withdrew from it “to protect civilian lives and prevent fighting in the city.” It added that soldiers remain near Hama.
The leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the main force of the rebellion, Abu Mohamed al-Golani announced the capture of Hama and warned the authorities Iraqto prevent pro-Iranian militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) from supporting Assad.
PMFs are considered part of the so-called axis of resistance, i.e. networks supported by Iran armed organizations, which also include: Lebanese HezbollahYemen's Houthi rebels, Palestinian Hamas and pro-government militias in Syria. The alliance is anti-Israel and anti-American.
Syria. Assad's allies weakened
Along with Russia, Iran is Assad's main ally. It's thanks to your support Moscow and Tehran, the regime in Damascus managed to regain control over most of the country in the civil war that has been ongoing since 2011. At least half a million people died in the conflict. Most fighting ended in 2020, and the current clashes are the most serious since then.
According to Reuters sources, more have already arrived in Syria approximately 300 fighters of pro-Iranian militias from Iraq. However, PMF denies that they are members of this organization.
Commentators point out that the rebels' quick and effective offensive takes place at a moment weakening Assad's allies. Russia is focusing on the aggression it has been carrying out for almost three years Ukraine. Iran and its allies, primarily the Lebanese Hezbollah, are engaged in a conflict with Israel.
Syrian forces opposing Assad are divided into many often conflicting factions. The largest external patron of the rebels is Türkiyewhich declares that it does not directly help HTS.
However, the Syrian National Army (SNA), supported by Ankara, is also fighting against government troops. Fighters of this organization have also been conducting an offensive for several days against the Kurdish-dominated and Western-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which control northeastern Syria.
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