Al Jazeera Net correspondents
Northern Syria- There were no lines of contact between Syrian opposition factions The Armed Forces, the Syrian regime forces and their allies have made similar military reinforcements for years, such as those that took place during the past few days on the fronts of the Aleppo countryside in northwestern Syria, amid frequent reports of an imminent battle that the opposition will launch to control Aleppo cityThe largest city in northern Syria and its economic capital.
Private sources told Al Jazeera Net that the Syrian regime recently sent new military reinforcements to the western countryside of Aleppo, from the 4th Division, the 25th Special Tasks Division, the 5th Corps, and the Republican Guard, in anticipation of any possible military attack by the opposition factions.
The sources said that regime forces raised earthen berms and new military fortifications on the front lines, amid a state of intense alert witnessed by these forces, which are conducting continuous reconnaissance of the contact lines in northwestern Syria.
Opposition preparations
On the other hand, the “Al-Fath Al-Mubin” operations room, which includes opposition factions, the most prominent of which is “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham“Working in Idlib Its readiness and readiness for any development or escalation in the northwestern regions of Syria.
Al-Fath Al-Mubin said in a statement yesterday, Saturday, that Damascus and Tehran “are carrying out continuous aggression against civilians in northern Syria, as the past weeks and days have witnessed heavy artillery and warplane bombardments and targeting of the safe people.”
The statement confirmed that the escalation led to waves of internal displacement towards the western and border regions, noting that more than 10,000 families were forced to leave their homes and villages and head towards safer areas.
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The official spokesman for the “Army of Glory” faction, which is part of the operations room, Colonel Mustafa Bakour, confirmed that the intention for military action exists and has not changed since the fighting stopped in 2020, explaining that the readiness and preparation phase is continuing, and a large percentage of it has been completed along the front lines.
Bakour said – in an interview with Al Jazeera Net – that the expected scenario is a comprehensive, simultaneous and carefully organized offensive operation on various axes, “leading to a major defeat of the militias and the remnants of the regime’s army, liberating as much territory as possible, and holding on to it to ensure a safe and dignified return for the displaced.”
Regarding the possibility of opposition factions reaching the city of Aleppo, Bakour stressed that the “revolutionary factions” have their eyes on the city and various Syrian regions, “given that the battle is a battle of liberation from foreign occupation, and since Aleppo is characterized by an important geographical and economic location and is considered the second capital of Syria, it is natural for it to be A target for the factions,” he said.
Popular variation
Anticipation appears to be the dominant situation among the majority of residents of areas controlled by the Syrian opposition, so that talk of the battle has become prevalent in the conversations of ordinary Syrians in Idlib and the Aleppo countryside, amid a discrepancy in opinions between enthusiasm for battles and victories and fears of any military repercussions on civilians.
Amjad Al-Omar, a resident of the Idlib countryside, said that there is a popular desire among people to open a battle and regain the areas that the Syrian regime has controlled during the last four years, indicating that the conditions are appropriate at the present time.
On the other hand, the displaced person from the Aleppo countryside, Saleh al-Muhammad, expressed his fears that any military action would lead to unintended consequences for civilians, through expanding bombing and targeting cities and towns in the “liberated areas” with aircraft and missiles.
Favorable conditions
Regional field events in the Middle East do not seem far from field developments in northern Syria, as analysts link the Israeli strikes targeting the Syrian capital DamascusAs an element that would weaken the Syrian regime on the ground and militarily in the north of the country.
In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Rashid Hourani, a researcher at the Jusoor Center for Studies, believes that the Syrian armed opposition will launch military action for two reasons:
- The first: the imbalance of power, as the opposition factions tried to neutralize the Russian aviation through their relations with the parties supporting them, considering the aviation is the strongest arm in favor of the regime forces.
- The second reason is the pressure and weakness that the Syrian regime is exposed to, due to the Israeli strikes on Hezbollah In Lebanon and Syria, and the possibility of an Israeli army incursion into Syria.
According to Hourani, the expected military action may take place in two stages:
The first: towards the areas that the Syrian opposition lost in 2019, including Maarat al-Numan andKhan Shaykhun andSaraqeb. Then followed by the second stage towards the city of Aleppo, pointing out that the military factions in northern Aleppo will have some role, in light of coordination with the Al-Fath Al-Mubin operations room.
