Syria, Russia step up strikes amid anti-regime forces advance

DAMASCUS

The Syrian military and its ally Russia conducted deadly joint air raids on areas under the control of opposition forces on Monday, with the Syrian opposition army continuing its operation in Tel Rifaat.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is backed by Russia and Iran, both of which have confirmed they will help his army fight back after Aleppo, the country's second city, fell out of government control amid anti-regime forces’ major offensive.

Assad said the opposition-led offensive in the country’s north was an attempt to “redraw” the map of the region, in remarks during a call with his Iranian counterpart yesterday.

“The terrorist escalation reflects the far-reaching goals of dividing the region and fragmenting the countries in it and redraw the map in line with the objectives of the United States and the West,” Assad said, according to a statement from the Syrian presidency.

“The terrorist escalation reflects the far-reaching goals of dividing the region and fragmenting the countries in it and redraw the map in line with the objectives of the United States and the West,” al-Assad said, according to a statement from the Syrian presidency.

Air raids conducted jointly by the Syrian and Russian air forces on several areas of Idlib province in northwest Syria killed 11 civilians yesterday, including five children.

Russia, which first intervened directly in the Syrian war in 2015, said yesterday it continued to support Assad.

"We of course continue to support Bashar al-Assad and we continue contacts at the appropriate levels, we are analyzing the situation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

On the same day, Iran's Foreign Ministry said it would maintain its military support for the Syrian government.

But the role of Lebanon's Hezbollah, which played a key role in backing the government particularly around Aleppo, remains in question particularly after it withdrew from several of its positions to focus on fighting Israel.

In a joint statement, the United States and its allies France, Germany and Britain called for "de-escalation" in Syria, underlining the urgent need for a Syrian-led political solution to the conflict.

In another remark from Washington, the U.S. national security adviser said the Syrian opposition's advances in and around Aleppo are linked to a new situation "in which the Syrian government’s main backers, Iran, Russia, and Hezbollah, were all distracted and weakened by conflicts and events elsewhere."

The opposition "took a look at three actors who had been pummeling them for years: Iran, Russia and Hezbollah. They had seen them weaker and more exposed than before and they tried to take advantage of it," Jake Sullivan told CNN.

Sullivan said that he believes the pace of the offensive surprised the Syrian government and other observers in the region.

The Syrian National Army (SNA) of opposition is continuing its advance in the Tel Rifaat district as part of its Operation Dawn of Freedom, aimed at blocking the PKK/YPG's terrorist corridor between Tel Rifaat and Manbij.

As part of the operation, the SNA has successfully captured several key locations.