From The New Arab
Eight years after Aleppo was subjected to a brutal starvation siege, pounded by the Assad regime, Russian and Iranian bombs and thousands of its residents massacred or forcibly displaced, the Free Syria flag flies over the citadel.
The rebel advance and consequent crumbling of regime forces took everyone by surprise, rapidly changing the map of power across northern Syria which had remained largely frozen since 2020 power-sharing agreements between Russia, Turkey and Iran.
In a few days Aleppo and Idlib province came under the control of rebel groups dominated by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS).
The Turkish-backed Syrian National Army meanwhile launched an offensive in and around Tel Rifaat, under the control of the Kurdish-led, and US-backed, Syrian Democratic Forces.
Clashes were reported between opposition factions and the regime in the southern province of Daraa, whilst in Druze-dominated Suwayda, popular protests were held in support of Syrians in the north.
Syrians inside the country and abroad, were taken by surprise.
Many celebrated – whilst holding their breath, not daring to hope that this could signal the endgame for the regime.
For years, Assad has raped, tortured, starved, bombed and gassed the populace into submission. He’s been kept in power by foreign support and foreign bombs. But today Russia is bogged down in Ukraine and Iranian military infrastructure in Syria (including its proxy Hezbollah) has been decimated by Israeli strikes.
In recent days, Assad, isolated and no doubt panicking, has been frantically calling upon his Gulf allies for support.
By contrast, the rebels, seizing on this moment of weakness, look stronger and more unified than ever before, using new drone weaponry and capturing weapons stores from retreating regime forces who have put up little resistance.
Leila Al-Shami is a British-Syrian author and activist. She worked in the field of human rights protection in Syria, participates in international solidarity movements and co-authored the book “Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War” with Robin Yassin-Kassab. She also became known for her criticism of the “idiot anti-imperialism” of the Western left.