Russian and Syrian warplanes intensified bombing raids across northwestern Syria, killing at least 25 people including 10 children, the opposition-run White Helmets rescue service reported Monday, as President Bashar al-Assad vowed to crush a major rebel offensive.
The air campaign targeted the rebel stronghold of Idlib, where witnesses reported strikes hitting crowded residential areas in the city center. The region, home to approximately four million people living in makeshift shelters near the Turkish border, has seen escalating violence since November 27, with the death toll reaching 56, including 20 children.
“Terrorists only know the language of force and it is the language we will crush them with,” Assad declared through state media, responding to the rebels’ most significant territorial gains since 2020. The insurgents, comprising Turkey-backed secular groups and the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, recently seized control of Idlib province and parts of Aleppo city.
The sudden rebel advance into Aleppo, a government stronghold since 2016, has forced a military reorganization as Syrian forces regroup for a counteroffensive. “I am shocked at how they fled and abandoned us,” said Ahmad Tutenji, a merchant in Aleppo’s affluent New Aleppo district, describing the unexpected government withdrawal.
Russian military involvement in the conflict faced scrutiny after war bloggers reported the dismissal of General Sergei Kisel, commander of Russian forces in Syria. Reuters has requested comment from the Russian defense ministry regarding these claims.
The United States, France, Germany, and Britain issued a joint statement calling for “de-escalation by all parties and the protection of civilians and infrastructure to prevent further displacement and disruption of humanitarian access.”
Meanwhile, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reported intense attacks on multiple fronts in the northwest. SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said attempts to establish a humanitarian corridor linking Kurdish-held regions were thwarted by Turkish-backed armed groups.
The conflict, which began in 2011 and has killed hundreds of thousands while displacing millions, continues without a formal resolution despite reduced fighting in recent years. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, visiting Damascus Sunday, characterized the situation as “difficult” but expressed confidence in the Assad government’s eventual success.
REUTERS
