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Here is what the situation looks like on the ground as of December 3, 2024.
Syrian jets, joined by Russian warplanes, have stepped up airstrikes on Idlib and Aleppo to push back opposition fighters in the country's northwest.
On November 27, groups opposed to the government of President Bashar al-Assad, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Shamlaunched a surprise offensive that captured large parts of Aleppo, the country's second largest city.
The rapid gains by opposition forces are the most significant since 2016. this way and brought the various factions in Syria back into the limelight.
How many civilians were killed?
According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), an independent organization that has documented human rights violations in Syria since 2011. so far, at least 104 civilians, including at least 27 children and nine women, have been killed in Syria between November 27 and December 1.
The latest violence marked the first major assault on al-Assad's forces in the region since a March 2020 ceasefire in Idlib brokered by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Over the past four years, Syrian government forces and the Russians have done so repeatedly bombed regime-held northwestern areas, killing hundreds.
Who controls what on site?
The map below shows the territorial control of various groups as of December 3.
Four main groups are competing for control on the ground in Syria. They are:
- Syrian government forces: The army, the government's main military force, is fighting alongside the National Defense Forces, a pro-government paramilitary group.
- The Syrian Democratic Forces: This Kurdish-dominated and United States-backed group controls parts of eastern Syria.
- HTS and other allied opposition groups: HTS is the largest fighting force and strongest presence in opposition-held Idlib.
- Turkish and Turkish-aligned Syrian rebel forces: The Syrian National Army is a Turkish-backed rebel force in northern Syria.
Who are the opposition fighters in Syria?
As the fight against al-Assad's government began in Syria, fighters formed and re-formed alliances according to the realities on the ground.
This latest operation features many battlegroups grouped into alliances of varying size.
The two largest groups are Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the National Liberation Front, each of which consists of a number of smaller groups.
All groups have agreed to fight under the military operations command, which is the latest version of the Fateh al-Mubin command center that has operated in the area in recent years.
