BEIRUT: President Bashar al-Assad, who lost Aleppo to a surprise rebel onslaught last week, now has a new front as fighters from a US-backed, Kurdish-led coalition engaged Syrian government forces in northeast Syria early on Tuesday, according to both parties.
According to a Syrian army source and a security source in eastern Syria, the US-led airstrikes also targeted militia groups backed by Iran that assist Syrian government forces in the strategically important area.
The US-led military coalition, which includes a limited contingent of American forces on the ground, was held accountable for the airstrikes by both sources.
Syrian President Assad’s military situation is complicated by the battle surrounding a group of villages across the Euphrates River from the regional capital Deir al-Zor. Overnight, his forces were concentrating on putting an end to a renewed rebel attack close to Hama.
The Iraqi prime minister declares that he will not stand by and watch while the UN condemns attacks on civilians. Erdogan and Putin spoke about the war in Syria.
The frontline just north of Hama, another major Syrian city, where multiple towns have changed hands several times in recent days, saw the most intense combat on Monday and overnight.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring organization, and an operations room for the opposition attack said Tuesday that the rebels had once more taken control of the villages.
crowded battleground
The resumption of combat to northeast Syria, where the conflict involves the United States, Russia, Iran, and Turkey, highlights the complex international politics at play and the risks of escalation in a highly congested battlefield.
Israel has also frequently attacked Syrian forces supported by Iran. According to Syrian official television, an Israeli drone had targeted a car close to Damascus.
The UN condemns assaults on civilians.
Attacks on civilians and the health system in northwest Syria, where escalating battles have killed hundreds and forced tens of thousands to flee, have prompted the UN to issue a warning.
According to the UN rights agency, the attacks surrounding a lightning advance by Islamist rebels who have taken control of Syria’s second city, Aleppo, are making millions of people’s misery worse after years of civil conflict.
“Iraq will not watch Syria.”
Iraq’s prime minister stated Tuesday in a transcript from his office of a phone chat to Turkiye’s president that his country will not stand by and watch while communities and sects are allegedly being ethnically cleansed in Syria.
According to the official summary of the call, Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that his country will do everything in its power to maintain both Iraq’s and Syria’s security.
Sudani was quoted by the Iraqi prime minister’s office as saying, “What is happening in Syria today is in the interest of the Zionist entity, which purposefully bombed Syrian army sites in a way that paved the way for terrorist groups to control additional areas in Syria.”
According to a Tuesday post on X by Erdogan’s office, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone over the recent escalation of the Syrian war.
According to the statement, Erdogan informed Putin that Turkey backs Syria’s territorial integrity and works to find a fair and long-term settlement in Syria.
According to the statement, “President Erdogan emphasized the significance of creating more space for diplomacy in the region and emphasized that the Syrian regime should participate in the political solution process.”
According to Qatar, the Syrian civil conflict cannot be resolved militarily. Majed Al-Ansari, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, stated that “the military solution will not lead to a sustainable result.”
