In a fast-moving turn of events‚ Abu Mohammed Al-Golaniʼs HTS forces made quick wins in Syria‚ taking over two major cities since late-nov. The ex-Qaeda group (which split-up from them bout 8 years ago) caught everyone off-guard with its lightning-fast moves
The situation made thousands run from Homs city towards the coast; where Bashar al-Assadʼs supporters live. “Most shops are closed and militia-men walk the streets“ says local resident Wasim Marouh‚ who chose to stay behind
- Aleppo fell to rebels last week
- Hama got taken over right after
- Homs might be next in line
Russians tried to slow down rebels progress by bombing-out the Rustan bridge on M5 road; while Naim Qassemʼs Hezbollah sent some forces to help. Its worth noting that Assadʼs friends are kinda busy now: Russians got their Ukraine thing going on‚ and Hezbollahʼs dealing with Israel
In his first talk since the offensive started‚ Al-Golani told CNN that his group wants to “build Syria“ and bring back refugees from Europe and Lebanon. Meanwhile‚ life in rebel-held Aleppo starts getting back to normal: bread is back in stores‚ police direct traffic‚ and internet works better
The conflict got more complex as Israel hit Lebanon-Syria border spots (saying these were used to move weapons)‚ and ISIS seems to be moving around in east Syria. Mazloum Abdi‚ who leads US-backed Kurdish forces says theres more ISIS activity in Deir Al-Zor and al-Raqqa areas lately