Syrian Rebels Take Over Major City

 We haven't heard a whole lot about Syria lately, but we do post anything that we see in regards to Damascus since Isaiah 17 still needs to be fulfilled.

Over the weekend there has been some major moves in Syria.  The rebels have taken over a major city in fighting against Assad's government.  And Assad is backed by Iran and Russia. 

The Syrian army said on Saturday dozens of its soldiers had been killed in a major attack led by Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels who swept into the city of Aleppo, forcing the army to redeploy in the biggest challenge to President Bashar al-Assad in years.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its air force had carried out strikes on Syrian rebels in support of the country's army, Russian news agencies reported. The strikes followed what was the boldest rebel assault for years in a civil war where front lines had largely been frozen since 2020.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, once known as the Nusra Front, is designated a terrorist group by the US, Russia, Turkey and other states. Assad is a close Moscow ally.

In Washington, the White House National Security Council said it was closely monitoring the situation and had been in contact with regional capitals over the last 48 hours.

NSC spokesperson Sean Savett said Syria's refusal to engage in a political process and its reliance on Russia and Iran had "created the conditions now unfolding, including the collapse of Assad regime lines in northwest Syria."

Savett said the US had nothing to do with the offensive led by "a designated terrorist organization" and "urged de-escalation ... and a serious and credible political process" under the 2015 U.N. Security Council Resolution 2254, which laid out the steps for a ceasefire and political transition.

The war, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced many millions, has ground on since 2011 with no formal end, although most major fighting halted years ago after Iran and Russia helped Assad's government win control of most land and all major cities.

The rebels also took control of Aleppo airport, according to a statement by their operations room and a security source.

Two rebel sources also said the insurgents had captured the city of Maraat al Numan in Idlib province, bringing all of that area under their control.

The fighting revives the long-simmering Syrian conflict as the wider region is roiled by wars in Gaza and Lebanon, where a truce between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday.

With Assad backed by Russia and Iran, and Turkey supporting some of the rebels in the northwest where it maintains troops, the offensive has brought into focus the conflict's knotted geopolitics. Fighting in the northwest had largely abated since Turkey and Russia reached a de-escalation agreement in 2020.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a phone call with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, discussing the situation in Syria, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

"Both sides expressed serious concerns at the dangerous development of the situation," the ministry said. They agreed it was necessary to coordinate joint actions to stabilise the situation in the country.

Turkish security officials had said on Thursday that Ankara had prevented operations which opposition groups wanted to organise, in order to avoid further tensions in the region.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Lavrov in a phone call that the rebel attacks were part of an Israeli-US plan to destabilise the region, Iranian state media said.

Here;  Russian and Syrian jets bomb insurgents in Aleppo city suburb - The Jerusalem Post

This is a super confusing war with many players but of course Iran blames Israel and USA for destabilizing a bunch of Muslims who've been at each other's throats since Muhammad's funeral.  

The easiest way to think about it is that you have angry Muslims fighting other angry Muslims with Shiites and Sunnis involved in the various factions.

The other confusing aspect is that you have Russia and Iran supporting the government forces loyal to Assad but you have Turkey supporting some of the rebel groups.  Ezekiel 38 says that Russia, Iran and Turkey will all be involved TOGETHER in working out a plan to destroy Israel.  So for now we just watch how this mess all plays out.

Needless to say the Syrian citizens are caught between a rock and a hard place and millions of them have chosen to flee the country and gone to neighboring nations.

The majority of Syrian refugees have stayed in the Middle East. Syria’s neighbours, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey are hosting over 90%.

Other families have fled to neighbouring Iraq, Egypt or North Africa.

Some refugees have fled to European countries.

At the height of the European migrant crisis in 2015, 1.3 million Syrians requested asylum with Germany, Sweden, Hungary, Greece, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France and Bulgaria receiving the most applications.

Here;  https://shelterbox.org/where-we-work/syria/conflict/

Just one more example of how Islam creates a mess wherever it takes root.  Europe is going to have lots of problems keeping there Muslim immigrants at bay.