Syria: Jihadists Prepared A Year for Aleppo Attack – A Truce in Lebanon “comforted” · Global Voices

The jihadists in the began preparations for the attack in a year ago, but the operation was delayed due to the Gaza Strip war. Eventually the attack on Aleppo by the jihadists in Syria began last week, after the ceasefire in Lebanon was agreed, Syrian opposition leader abroad said. The rebels managed to take over the city and parts of the neighbouring province Idlib so quickly, partly because Hezbollah and other militants, supported by Iran, had been detached to Lebanon, Hadi al Bachra said in an interview he granted to the Reuters agency. The Turkish army, working with some rebel groups and having bases along the southern border in Syria, had been informed of the plans of armed organizations but made clear that it would not play a direct role. The surprise attack on northwestern Syria began last Wednesday, the day the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took place in Lebanon, after a year of fighting. Reuters “A year ago they really began training and mobilising and taking it more seriously,” said Bachra, the president of the National Coalition of Syria’s Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, the internationally recognized Syrian opposition. “But the war in Gaza (…) and then the war in Lebanon delayed it. They felt it would not seem right to have the war in Lebanon at the same time they would fight in Syria,” he said from his office in Istanbul. These were the first public comments by opposition executives about the rebel preparations. Reuters Reuters “So, the moment there was a ceasefire in Lebanon, they found the opportunity (…) to start,” he added. “Without Hezbollah Assad has less support” This operation is the boldest that the rebels have launched and the biggest challenge for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for years. Front lines were virtually frozen by 2020. Syrian and Russian forces counter-attacked and Bachra said that these blows “destabilize” Aleppo and Idlib and constitute the greatest danger to civilians, since the rebels took great care to ensure that there were no victims among civilians in their advance. The recapture of Aleppo by the opposition opens the way to return to their homes hundreds of thousands of Syrians displaced either in other areas of Syria or in Turkey, Bahra argued. “Because of the wars in Lebanon and the decline in Hezbollah’s forces, Assad’s regime has less support,” he said. Iran also has fewer resources while Russia provides less air cover due to the “Ukraine problem”. Reuters Tehran is committed to helping the Syrian government and earlier today hundreds of Iraqi paramilitary organizations based in Iran crossed the border to fight the rebels on the side of the Syrian forces. Turkey said it closely monitors developments and takes the necessary precautions for its soldiers. The rebels are a coalition of armed, grassroots organisations supported by Turkey, dominated by Hayat Tahrir al Sam (HTS), an Islamist group considered terrorist by Turkey, the US, Russia and other countries. Bachra’s coalition does not include HTS but other organizations that oppose Assad, such as the Syrian National Army or Free Syrian Army, which occupied territories in northern Indlib last week. This coalition maintains regular diplomatic contacts with the United Nations and with many countries.