The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have taken control of Deir ez-Zor, the main city in the east of the country, as well as the main border crossing on the border with Iraq.
This is reported by Reuters.
Deir ez-Zor has become the third city to lose control of President Bashar al-Assadʼs regime within a week.
Syrian government forces and Iranian-backed Iraqi fighters withdrew from Deir ez-Zor before SDF entered.
Soon after, the Syrian Democratic Forces broke through the Albu Kamal border crossing near the city, two Syrian army sources told Reuters.
The city of Deir ez-Zor has changed hands several times since the start of the war in Syria in 2011 following protests against Assad.
It first fell into the hands of the rebels, and then was captured by the Islamic State in 2014. The Syrian army, with the support of pro-Iranian Iraqi groups, recaptured it in 2017 and has held it until today.
The offensive by the Syrian Democratic Forces began on Friday after Syrian rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched an offensive on the central Syrian city of Homs, which is called Assadʼs political stronghold.
Meanwhile, Sky News Arabia sources reported that the Assad regime has turned to Russia for help. However, the Russian Federation has stated that any intervention they may have will be limited and that they now have other priorities.
Russia intervened militarily in favor of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and was able in 2015 to regain control of the Syrian army over many areas it had lost.
Sources in The Wall Street Journal say that officials in Egypt and Jordan have urged Assad to leave the country and form a government in exile.
What preceded
Active clashes between the rebels and Syrian troops began on November 27. The offensive was launched by the Syrian Revolutionary Forces in "response to months of continuous attacks on civilians" by the Assad regime in Aleppo province. It was the most intense fighting in northwest Syria since 2020, when government forces seized areas previously controlled by opposition fighters. It is also the biggest advance by opposition fighters on the city since they were pushed out of the eastern districts in 2016.
On November 30, the Syrian Armed Forces declared a "temporary withdrawal" from Aleppo to prepare for a counteroffensive against opposition groups. As early as December 1, the media reported that the Assadʼs Forces had lost control of Aleppo — for the first time since the beginning of the military conflict that began more than ten years ago. Later, it became known about the loss of Hama, the fifth largest city in the country, by the Assad regime.
Ukrainian intelligence says that Russian troops are suffering losses during the fighting in Syria. Against this background, the Russian Federation changed the commander of forces in the region — he became General Oleksandr Chaiko, who commanded a group of Russian troops in Syria in 2017-2019. GUR noted that it currently knows about "hundreds" of Russians who are considered missing there.
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