Syrian rebels wrest control of most of Aleppo; U.S. and allies ‘urge de-escalation’ in joint statement

Syrian opposition forces made a shock advance across the northern part of the country in recent days, seizing control this weekend of most of Aleppo, Syria’s economic capital, in a stunning challenge to President Bashar al-Assad that has refocused global attention on the nation’s years-long civil war.

Since its start in 2011, when Assad cracked down on largely peaceful protests, the conflict has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced around 13 million more, according to the United Nations. It gave rise to the Islamic State, sucked in world powers including Russia and the United States, and carved Syria into different zones of control.

For years, remnants of the opposition huddled mainly in Idlib province, along the Turkish border, as well as in other parts of northern and central Syria. Violence there flared in October with clashes between insurgents and government forces, as well as Russian airstrikes against rebel positions. The renewed fighting came as Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group allied with Assad, redirected some of its forces from Syria to Lebanon to try to stave off an Israeli invasion.

International allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad showed support for his regime after rebels breached Aleppo in a major offensive and began a rapid push into northwestern Syria, forcing Russian- and Iranian-backed government forces to retreat in some areas. Assad’s critics, including the United States, reacted to the unfolding situation with caution.

Russia, which has participated in strikes against rebel positions alongside Syria’s army, expressed support for Assad’s government. Oleg Ignasyuk, a Russian military official in charge of Syria, said Saturday that Russian forces were fighting in Syria and that “missile and bomb strikes were carried out.”

On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and, according to the Kremlin, they “expressed utmost concern over the dangerous escalation in Syria … and reaffirmed strong support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic.” The two also “agreed on the need to intensify joint efforts so as to stabilize the situation in Syria.”

Araghchi went to Damascus, the Syrian capital, to express Tehran’s support for the Syrian army and government on Sunday, state news agency IRNA reported. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also cast the developments as a regional problem, saying he hoped that Islamic countries would help resolve it and that there would be no foreign interference, according to IRNA.

Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates’ foreign minister, expressed the country’s support for Syria “in the face of extremism and terrorism” during a phone call Sunday with Fuad Hussein, Iraq’s deputy prime minister, his office said in a post on X. The UAE and Syria restored diplomatic relations in 2018. Nahyan’s office added that he wished “continued security, stability and prosperity” for Iraq, which shares a border with Syria. Officials said they have sent reinforcements to the border.

Support for Assad’s government also came from farther afield. In Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro’s government issued a statement Saturday labeling the rebels as terrorists and condemning all attacks against the Syrian state.

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi spoke with his Syrian counterpart. According to the ministry, Safadi said Jordan was following the developments “with concern,” stated “Jordan’s support for Syria, its territorial integrity, sovereignty, stability and the safety of its citizens,” and “stressed the need … to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis.”

The United States was unsurprised by the rebels having taken action while Assad’s major supporters are distracted by other conflicts, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday. However, he said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he was somewhat surprised by the swiftness of the offensive.

The rebels, Sullivan said, referring to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group based in northwestern Syria’s Idlib province, “took a look at three actors who had been pummeling them for years: Iran, Russia, Hezbollah. They had seen them weaker and more exposed than before, and they tried to take advantage of it.”

Also on Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan about the “need for de-escalation and the protection of civilian lives and infrastructure,” according to a State Department spokesperson. The Turkish government supports rebel groups that control areas of northern Syria, including parts of Idlib near the border between the two countries, and some analysts suspect Turkey may have even approved of the military operation.

Sullivan said that although the United States has designated HTS a terrorist organization, Washington is not going to lament the fact that the Assad government is facing more pressure. He described it as “a complicated situation,” according to a transcript from CNN.

On Sunday, Geir O. Pedersen, the United Nations’ special envoy for Syria, urged de-escalation.

“What we see in Syria today is a mark of a collective failure” to bring about a diplomatic solution, he said in a news release, adding that no group of actors could resolve the conflict through military means.

Some residents in the Aleppo area say they are staying home and keeping an eye on the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militants who have taken over much of Syria’s largest city.

George Meneshian, 29, told The Washington Post that his uncle and cousins in Aleppo woke up Saturday to find that the Syrian army had fled.

“They thought that the army would repel the attack,” he said in a phone conversation from Athens.

Later in the afternoon, armed men began roaming the streets of their neighborhood. At first he was worried that his family might be harmed, however, the fighters reassured them that they would be safe, and the militants gave them bread.

Meneshian says some of the fighters are locals.

“They have experiences living with Christians, with Armenians, which is good,” he said. “But still, they are concerned. These are just the first two days. They don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

Meneshian’s family is subsisting on what they have at home because of the rebel-imposed curfew that is scheduled to end Monday morning.

Rebels who advanced into Aleppo posted footage of themselves at military installations in and around the city and the wider province, according to images and footage geolocated by The Post.

In one video posted to X, an opposition fighter kisses the ground outside a military academy about 30 miles west of Aleppo. “This is a blessing from God to the mujahideen,” he says.

A photo taken from the same location shows one fighter standing and another sitting just inside the entrance. The photo shows a jeep parked nearby carrying a large white flag resembling those used by HTS.

On Sunday, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Aleppo held a mass that was attended by dozens of people, according to photos posted on its Facebook page.

The parishioners gathered to “pray for peace in Aleppo, Syria and the whole world,” the church wrote.

Iran scrambled to shore up support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a key ally, as his government’s forces continued to battle a rebel advance in the country’s north on Sunday.

Syria is an essential Iranian ally. Iran helped Assad cling to power earlier in his country’s years-long civil war, and Syrian territory is home to some of Iran’s most important logistical routes connecting Tehran to allies such as Hezbollah.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, when state media circulated a photograph of his meeting with Assad.

“The Iranian people will not forget friends in hard times,” Araghchi said to reporters in Iran before he left for Syria, according to state media. He said the trip was intended to show “we firmly support the Syrian army and government.”

Assad said his forces would continue to fight rebels with “all its strength and determination,” according to a statement from the Syrian president’s office. The operations against rebel forces “do not serve Syria alone as much as they serve the stability of the entire region,” the statement said.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, characterized the surge as a distraction from Israel’s war in Gaza.

“Takfiri groups, instead of concentrating on Zionist regime’s malevolent nature, draw the attention to other places,” Khamenei said on his X account.

“Takfiri” is a term used by some Shiite Muslims to describe followers of Sunni Islam.

After Damascus, Araghchi is expected to travel to Turkey, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Other Iranian leaders expressed concern that the crisis in Syria could expand. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian cautioned that violence could “become a basis for further foreign intervention in the region.”

In an address to parliament Sunday, Pezeshkian called on Islamic countries to come together to resolve the crisis.

Iran’s speaker of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, accused Israel and the United States of supporting the rebel groups fighting government forces in Syria. He criticized the two countries for playing a “dangerous game” and warned that the “mayhem” in Syria could spread elsewhere.

A lightning advance by insurgents over the past two days in parts of northern and central Syria was the result of better organization by rebel forces, the weakening of President Bashar al-Assad’s military allies and, possibly, luck: Few expected the Syrian army to collapse as quickly as it did.

On Sunday, opposition forces were in control of much of Aleppo, the northern city where Assad’s troops and allied militias vanquished rebel fighters eight years earlier in what seemed then to be a turning point in the country’s civil war. Video footage suggested that government troops had either retreated or melted away, allowing a long-planned offensive to advance further than expected, experts said.

The timing of the operation is one of the central questions looming over the rebel offensive, given that before the insurgents started advancing last week, it had been years since Syria’s front lines had moved.

Syrian rebel fighters defended their gains in Aleppo on Saturday, a day after breaching the city, while pushing south toward Hama and claiming control of government-held areas along the way.

The insurgent offensive, shocking for its speed, has posed the most serious challenge to the authority of President Bashar al-Assad in years. Government forces, backed by Russia and Iran, in many places appeared to have retreated or just melted away. Videos posted by the rebels or opposition activists appeared to show captured government soldiers in several places, including Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, and a military air base in the northwestern province of Idlib.

“Assad forces completely collapse in northern and central Syria,” rebel commanders said in a WhatsApp message late Saturday.

The claim from the military operations room of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist rebel group that’s leading the offensive, could not immediately be verified. But the Syrian army, in a statement earlier Saturday, said it was redeploying forces from areas it had controlled in Aleppo and Idlib provinces with the aim of “strengthening the defense lines in order to absorb the attack.”