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Syrian Opposition Leader Says Lebanon Truce Opened Door to Aleppo Assault

An anti-regime fighter tears off a poster depicting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) and his brother Maher at the airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
An anti-regime fighter tears off a poster depicting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) and his brother Maher at the airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
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Syrian Opposition Leader Says Lebanon Truce Opened Door to Aleppo Assault

An anti-regime fighter tears off a poster depicting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) and his brother Maher at the airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
An anti-regime fighter tears off a poster depicting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) and his brother Maher at the airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 2, 2024. (AFP)

Syrian opposition fighters began preparations to seize Aleppo a year ago, but the operation was delayed by war in Gaza and ultimately launched last week when a ceasefire took hold in Lebanon, the head of Syria's main opposition abroad told Reuters.

The factions were able to seize the city and parts of neighboring Idlib province so quickly in part because Hezbollah and other Iran-backed fighters were distracted by their conflict with Israel, Hadi al-Bahra said in an interview on Monday.

The Turkish military, which is allied with some of the opposition and has bases across its southern border in Syria, had heard of the armed groups' plans but made clear it would play no direct role, he added.

The assault in northwestern Syria was launched last Wednesday, the day that Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah began a truce ending more than a year of fighting.

"A year ago they started really training and mobilizing and taking it more seriously," said Bahra, president of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, the internationally-recognized Syrian opposition.

"But the war on Gaza ... then the war in Lebanon delayed it. They felt it wouldn't look good having the war in Lebanon at the same time they were fighting in Syria," he said in his Istanbul office, in the first public comments on the fighters’ preparations by an opposition figure.

"So the moment there was a ceasefire in Lebanon, they found that opportunity ... to start."

The opposition operation is the boldest advance and biggest challenge to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in years in a civil war where front lines had largely been frozen since 2020.

Syrian and allied Russian forces have launched counter attacks, which Bahra said are "destabilizing" Aleppo and Idlib and pose the biggest risk to civilians, given the earlier opposition advances had sought carefully to avoid such casualties.

IRAN, RUSSIA

The opposition retaking of Aleppo also paves the way for hundreds of thousands of Syrians displaced elsewhere in the country and in Türkiye to return home, Bahra said.

"Due to the Lebanese war and decrease in Hezbollah forces, (Assad's) regime has less support," he said, adding Iranian militias also have less resources while Russia is giving less air cover due to its "Ukraine problem".

Damascus, which is also backed by Iran, did not immediately comment on whether the opposition sought to avoid casualties and whether it risks destabilizing the region with air raids. Assad has vowed to crush the fighters and has launched air raids.

Iran-backed Hezbollah did not immediately comment on whether its war with Israel opened the door to Syrian opposition advances in Aleppo, where it also has personnel.

Tehran has pledged to aid the Syrian government and on Monday hundreds of fighters from Iran-backed Iraqi militias crossed into Syria to help fight the factions, Syrian and Iraqi sources said.

A Turkish defense ministry official said last week that Ankara was closely monitoring the mobilization and taking precautions for its troops.

The opposition fighters are a coalition of Türkiye-backed mainstream secular armed groups spearheaded by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that has been designated a terrorist outfit by Türkiye, the US, Russia and other states.

Bahra's coalition, which does not include HTS, represents anti-Assad groups including the Türkiye-backed Syrian National Army or Free Syrian Army, which took territory north of Idlib over the last week.

It holds regular diplomatic talks with the United Nations and several states.

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Türkiye's Erdogan Hopes Instability in Syria Will Be Solved with Agreement

People and Syrian rescuers known as the White Helmets stand near building rubble at the site of a reported airstrike on a neighborhood in Syria's opposition-held northern city of Idlib on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
People and Syrian rescuers known as the White Helmets stand near building rubble at the site of a reported airstrike on a neighborhood in Syria's opposition-held northern city of Idlib on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
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Türkiye's Erdogan Hopes Instability in Syria Will Be Solved with Agreement

People and Syrian rescuers known as the White Helmets stand near building rubble at the site of a reported airstrike on a neighborhood in Syria's opposition-held northern city of Idlib on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
People and Syrian rescuers known as the White Helmets stand near building rubble at the site of a reported airstrike on a neighborhood in Syria's opposition-held northern city of Idlib on December 2, 2024. (AFP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that he hoped the instability in Syria would be concluded with an agreement in line with the demands of the Syrian people.

"Our greatest wish is for Syria's territorial integrity and national unity to be preserved, and for the instability that has been going on for 13 years to end with consensus in line with the legitimate demands of the Syrian people," Erdogan said.

Speaking at a press conference, Erdogan also said Ankara was closely monitoring developments in neighboring Syria and taking the necessary measures to prevent harm to Türkiye's security.

Earlier on Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the recent rapid advance by opposition fighters in Syria shows that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must reconcile with his own people and hold dialogue with the opposition

At a joint news conference in Ankara with his Iranian counterpart, Fidan said Türkiye and Iran, which support opposing sides in Syria’s civil war, have agreed to resume diplomatic efforts along with Russia to restore calm days after fighters launched a lightning offensive and captured almost all of the country’s largest city, Aleppo.

The swift advance by fighters that Türkiye supports was a huge embarrassment for Assad and it comes at a time when his allies — Iran and groups it backs and Russia — are preoccupied with their own conflicts.

The push is among the opposition’s strongest in years and raises the prospect of another violent front reopening in the Middle East when US-backed Israel is fighting Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both Iranian-allied groups.

Fidan, whose country has backed forces opposed to Assad, blamed the recent flare-up of the conflict on the Syrian government’s refusal to enter a dialogue with the opposition that Türkiye supports.

“Recent developments show once again that Damascus must reconcile with its own people and the legitimate opposition,” the Turkish minister said. “Türkiye is ready to make all the necessary contribution toward this.”

Fidan’s comments emerged amid Turkish frustration that recent efforts toward a reconciliation with Assad have fallen flat. The comments indicated that the shock offensive launched by opposition fighters could be aimed at pressuring the Syrian leader to engage in political talks.

Türkiye has been seeking to normalize ties with Syria to address security threats from groups affiliated with Kurdish militants along its southern border and to help ensure the safe return of more than 3 million Syrian refugees. Assad has insisted that Türkiye’s withdrawal of its forces from northern Syria be a condition for any normalization between the two countries.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who visited Assad on Sunday before traveling to Ankara, reiterated Tehran’s full support for the Syrian government. Iran has been one of Assad’s principal political and military supporters and has deployed military advisers and forces after 2011 protests against Assad’s rule turned into an all-out war.

Iranian-backed Iraqi militias have deployed in Syria to back the government’s counteroffensive against the opposition, an Iraqi militia official and a war monitor said Monday.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition war monitor, some 200 Iraqi militiamen riding on pickups crossed into Syria overnight through the strategic al-Boukamal crossing. They were expected to deploy in Aleppo to support the Syrian army’s pushback against the opposition fighters, the monitor said.

The opposition offensive in Syria has caused concern among neighboring countries that the conflict could spill over. In Iraq, Interior Ministry spokesperson Brig. Gen. Miqdad Miri said security forces have deployed in greater numbers to protect their large border with Syria.

Fidan reiterated Türkiye’s support for Syria’s territorial integrity, but suggested that Türkiye would not hesitate to intervene against Syrian Kurdish militia groups that Ankara considers to be terrorists if they “exploit the environment of instability.”

“It was a mistake to ignore the legitimate demands of the opposition and for the (Syrian) regime not to sincerely engage in the political process,” Fidan said.

“Türkiye will never, ever allow terrorist organizations that seek to exploit the environment of instability, Fidan said. “We will eliminate any threat to our national security and our people wherever it emerges.”

Both Fidan and Araghchi said Türkiye, Iran and Russia would convene a new three-way meeting to address the conflict in Syria.

"We have decided to hold closer consultations and dialogue, and with God’s permission, we will cooperate to further improve the situation toward peace and stability in our region,” Araghchi said.

Russia, whose intervention in Syria’s civil war on behalf of Assad was crucial in turning the conflict in his favor, has said it will continue to support him.

“We continue our contacts at the appropriate level and analyze the situation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday. “A position will be formed regarding what is needed to stabilize the situation.”

As Syrian and Russian jets continued pounding targets, two airstrikes hit a group of four hospitals and the health directorate building in Idlib city, the Syrian Civil Defense force that operates in opposition-held areas, known as the White Helmets, said.

Two people in Idlib University Hospital died after their oxygen machines turned off following the strikes. Ceiling panels and doors at the hospital were blown off, while ambulances and vehicles outside were severely damaged according to footage taken by journalist with The Associated Press at the hospital.

At least 15 civilians were killed in Idlib city and province, according to the White Helmets.

Syrian Kurds were fleeing the fighting in large numbers after Turkish-backed fighters seized Tel Rifaat from rival US-backed Kurdish authorities. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces largely withdrew and called for a humanitarian corridor to allow people to leave safely in convoys toward Aleppo and later to Kurdish-led northeast regions.