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Fighting Rages in Syria as Rebels Advance
Forces opposed to President Bashar al-Assad have captured the Aleppo airport and are attacking the western city of Hama, according to local officials and a Britain-based war monitor.
Muhammad Haj Kadour and Vivian Yee
Muhammad Haj Kadour reported from Aleppo and Hama Province in Syria, and Vivian Yee from Cairo.
Rebel forces advanced in Syria on Sunday amid fierce fighting, capturing the airport of the major city of Aleppo and attacking the outskirts of the western city of Hama, according to local officials and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Government troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad were trying to repel them, they said.
The rebels had captured much of Aleppo a day earlier in a surprise offensive. They now control a broad swath of land across the provinces of Hama, Idlib and Aleppo, in the west and northwest of Syria, according to information from local officials and the Observatory, a Britain-based war monitor.
The New York Times also observed rebels in control of parts of Hama Province as well as neighborhoods in the east of the city of Aleppo and parts of the countryside beyond it that government forces had held only days earlier.
Government troops were battling to defend the city of Hama from being overrun, according to the Observatory. Syrian government warplanes were also bombing territory that was now held by the rebels, causing civilian casualties, the monitor said.
It said that government forces were receiving support from Russian fighter jets, which were striking targets across the countryside near Hama and Idlib province.
Russia, which is allied with Mr. Assad, has repeatedly come to his aid since early in the civil war that broke out in 2011, after protests over Mr. Assad’s autocratic rule drew a swift and bloody military crackdown. Mr. al-Assad has also counted on military and political support from Iran.
The rebel alliance is led by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which was once linked with Al Qaeda but publicly broke with the terrorist group years ago. Turkish-backed rebel groups have also joined in.
The Biden administration said on Saturday that it was closely monitoring the situation in Syria. “The United States has nothing to do with this offensive,” a National Security Council spokesman, Sean Savett, said in a statement, calling Hayat Tahrir al-Sham “a designated terrorist organization.”
“The United States, together with its partners and allies, urge de-escalation, protection of civilians and minority groups, and a serious and credible political process that can end this civil war once and for all,” Mr. Savett said.
A Syrian government statement said that Mr. Assad had spoken to the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Iraq on Saturday, vowing that Syria would “defeat the terrorists, regardless of the intensity of their attacks.” Syrian officials routinely refer to rebels as terrorists.
Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, referred to the situation in Syria in Parliament on Sunday, saying that “Islamic countries must intervene to prevent America and Israel from exploiting the internal conflicts of countries and prevent the continuation of these crises.”
And the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said he was heading to Damascus on Sunday. Ali Moujani, an Iranian diplomat, said on X that the foreign minister was making the trip in a show of support for the Syrian government.
The Syrian military said in a statement on Saturday that its operation to push back the rebels was “successfully” progressing and that it would soon initiate a counterattack. It tried to discredit reports about rebel advances, saying that the armed groups were spreading “false news” to “undermine the morale of our people and our brave army.”
Across the territory that had flipped back to the rebels, people could be seen tearing up Syrian government flags and pictures of Mr. Assad, including fighters and former Aleppo residents who were returning to their homes for the first time in years. Photos taken in Aleppo also showed the toppling of a statue that had apparently depicted Bassel al-Assad, the president’s elder brother.
Hwaida Saad contributed reporting from Beirut, Lebanon, Rania Khaled from Cairo and Leily Nikounazar from Brussels.
Vivian Yee is a Times reporter covering North Africa and the broader Middle East. She is based in Cairo. More about Vivian Yee
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