The President of Syria has said his country “will defend its stability and its territorial integrity” as the rebels are said to take over most of the country’s second largest city, Aleppo. In his first public comments since the beginning of the offensive, Bashar al Assad said the regime would beat their “terrorists and supporters”. In comments issued by the state -run news agency, he added that Syria is able to overcome them no matter how intensifying their attacks. On Saturday thousands of insurgents occupied most of Aleppo, checking his airport before expanding their shocking offensive into a nearby province.
They faced little or no resistance from government troops, according to fighters and activists. Thousands of fighters also occupied cities and villages in northern Hama, a province where they had a presence before being expelled from government troops in 2016.
The fast and surprise offensive is a great shame for Assad and raises questions about the readiness of his armed forces. The insurgents, led by the Jihadist Salafi group, Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, and including Turkey -backed fighters, began their shocking offensive on Wednesday. They initially organized a double attack on Aleppo and the village of Idlib, entering Aleppo two days later. By Saturday night, they had occupied at least four cities in the Hama Central Province and claimed to have entered the province’s capital.
At least 327 persons, including 44 civilians, have been killed since the start of Operation Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (Sohr) based in the United Kingdom said. Thousands of people are also said to have moved after escalation of violence.
