Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he plans to defeat rebel forces that have advanced rapidly as Assad’s forces retreat.
18:05•Updated 20:46
Syria’s autocratic president Bashar al-Assad vows to defeat the rebel coalition led by the jihadist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Al-Assad commented on his intentions in a phone call with the leader of the Russian-backed region of Abkhazia, which broke away from Georgia Badra Ganban with. The Syrian state news agency reported on the matter.
The rebel forces are now in full control of the city of Aleppo. After the rebels advanced quickly on Saturday without much resistance from the forces of the Assad regime, the pace slowed down on Sunday.
According to SOHR, which monitors the Syrian civil war, the regime’s armed forces strengthened their positions around the city of Hama, south of Aleppo.
At the same time, the air forces of Syria and its close ally Russia bombarded the rebels. According to SOHR, Russian airstrikes in the vicinity of Aleppo University Hospital killed at least five people.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani says that Russian bombs also hit the premises of a Christian organization in Aleppo. The attack caused no casualties. Tajani appeals to all parties to the conflict to protect the civilian population.
Israel follows with a “close eye”, the United States equally
The volatile and rapidly changing situation in Syria has put neighboring countries on the back foot. Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is constantly monitoring events in Syria and says Israel is ready to “defend the achievements of its war”.
Netanyahu did not directly say which war he was referring to. Netanyahu may have been referring to the 1967 “Six-Day War” in which Israel captured and occupied the Syrian Golan Heights.
The US White House, on the other hand, says that it is following the events in Syria closely and says that the Assad regime has failed to implement the policy measures recommended by the UN to stabilize Syria. The United States says it is ready to “defend U.S. personnel and military positions” that are “critical to preventing the rise of the ISIS terrorist organization.”
As a result of the war against ISIS, the United States still has about 1,000 troops in eastern Syria.
Source: Reuters
Story updated on December 1, 2024 at 8:26 p.m. Added context to Netanyahu’s statement.