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AFP NOS News • today, 17:06 Assad receives support from pro-Iranian fighters as rebels advance
Syria's army is receiving support from pro-Iranian militant groups in Iraq in its fight against Islamic rebels in the northwest of the country. At least 300 fighters crossed the border overnight, Iraqi and Syrian sources told news agencies.
"These are fresh reinforcements for our comrades on the front," a source in the Syrian army told Reuters news agency. To avoid airstrikes, they reportedly entered Syria in small groups and through an unofficial border crossing, rather than all at once.
That these pro-Iranian militias are coming to the aid of the Syrian army is not unexpected. Iran is an ally of the Syrian dictator Assad. Pro-Iranian militias helped Assad suppress the uprising against him that broke out in 2011.
The government army is also being helped by Russian warplanes that have been stationed in Syria for almost a decade. According to Syrian human rights groups, the Russian planes are not only attacking rebels, but also residential areas and hospitals in urban areas in Aleppo and Idlib.
Unexpected Fighters from the Islamic rebel movement HTS broke the ceasefire with the government army in the northwestern province of Idlib last week. They took control of Aleppo, the country's second city that they had to abandon in 2016 after a long battle. They then began an advance on the province of Hama. It is unclear how that will go.
In their offensive, the rebels also captured Tel Rifaat, a town north of Aleppo that had been held by the Syrian Democratic Forces. This Kurdish-led group managed to defeat the terrorist group Islamic State in northeastern Syria in 2019.
AFP Turkish Minister Fidan and his Iranian counterpart Araghchi
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi traveled to Damascus yesterday for talks with the Assad government. He said today that the Syrian army is capable of dealing with the rebels on its own, but also that Iran will give the Syrian army all the support it needs.
Araghchi also spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan in Ankara today. The rebels from Idlib are supported by Turkey.
Fidan said afterwards that Turkey does not want the civil war that has been going on for fourteen years to flare up further and a new flow of refugees to start. He also said that the developments show that the Assad government must reach an agreement with the opposition.
Civil war As in other Arab countries, an uprising against the dictatorial regime broke out in Syria in 2011. This led to a bloody civil war that cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Millions of people fled.
With the help of Russia and Iran, Assad managed to push back the Arab and Kurdish rebel groups, but they still managed to hold large areas. In 2020, after mediation by Russia and Turkey, a ceasefire with the rebels in Idlib was reached that held until last week.
