Russia and Iran have rushed to the aid of an embattled ally as the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad announced a counteroffensive against rebel groups that have scored stunning advances in the past 48 hours.
Russian warplanes hit rebel-held targets in the northwest region of Idlib Sunday as Iran’s foreign minister announced plans for an emergency trip to Damascus to demonstrate support for the Assad regime.
The moves were a sign of the deep shock delivered to Mr. Assad, whose forces had largely kept rebel forces bottled up in regions along Syria’s northern border for the past several years. In a surprise offensive, insurgents led by the rebel force Hayat Tahrir al-Sham captured the strategic city of Aleppo Saturday and there were unconfirmed reports that they had also seized the city of Khansir, cutting off the government’s access to Aleppo.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist militant group, has pledged allegiance in the past to al Qaeda.
The Biden administration said over the weekend it was closely monitoring the situation, and denied Washington had played any role in the uprising. The U.S. maintains a small force in eastern Syria with links to Syrian Kurdish groups that oppose Mr. Assad’s rule, but the Kurds apparently did not play a major role in the surprise attack.
The once-isolated Syrian regime is now able to call on a broader range of allies in the region since Mr. Assad managed to restore government control over most of the country in recent years. Iran and Russia — both of which are preoccupied with foreign policy crises of their own closer to home — have also provided critical military and logistical support for Damascus.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was traveling to Damascus Sunday, telling reporters that Tehran will back the Syrian government and army, the Associated Press reported. Arab leaders, including Jordan’s King Abdullah II and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also have publicly expressed support for the Assad government.
Syrian officials announced the first actions against the insurgents over the weekend, sending reinforcements to the city of Idlib Sunday. The Syrian state news agency SANA said government forces had also pushed back rebel forces in the northern countryside of Hama province, as Syrian and Russian airstrikes targeted weapon depots and command centers controlled by the jihadist group.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, said Sunday more than 370 people have been killed since the fighting erupted Wednesday.
Mr. Assad has not been seen in public since the crisis erupted, but vowed in a statement released to the official state news agency Saturday evening to defeat the rebels.
Syria will continue to “defend its stability and territorial integrity against terrorists and their supporters,” Mr. Assad vowed.
The latest uprising is a particular loss for Mr. Assad, as the regime’s victory at Aleppo in 2016 was widely seen as turning the tide in the country’s brutal civil war that erupted in 2011.
— This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• David R. Sands can be reached at dsands@washingtontimes.com.