Syria’s main opposition group abroad on Monday said armed groups took control of Aleppo and other areas of Syria to protect civilians from attacks by Bashar Assad’s regime.
Speaking at a news conference in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul, Hadi al-Bahra, president of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces (SMDK), discussed the control gained by opposition groups in Aleppo and other areas of northern Syria.
The opposition forces’ operation in Syria became inevitable after years of attacks and oppression by regime forces and Iranian militias, he said.
He noted that regime airstrikes on civilians reached 52 in a single day in November.
As regime attacks on the Syrian people escalate, al-Bahra highlighted a decrease in humanitarian aid.
He said shifting policies in countries like Lebanon toward Syrian refugees are leading to rights violations and increased returns to liberated areas.
Al-Bahra pointed out that the population in liberated areas is growing rapidly, outpacing the available infrastructure.
“These developments forced Syrians into military confrontation,” he said.
“From the outset, these operations had clear objectives: to stop attacks on liberated areas and to establish a deterrent stance against the enemy.
“And the only way to do that was to liberate the areas that were the source of the attacks,” he added.
Al-Bahra also said the goals of Syrian opposition forces are to liberate cities, towns and villages for civilians who have lost access to essential services in the liberated areas, ensure military security and pave the way for people to return to their homes.
“Additionally, we seek to revive the political process that implements U.N. Security Council Resolutions 2118 and 2254,” he added.
He criticized international negligence for leaving Syrians to endure their suffering instead of working toward a sustainable solution.
Al-Bahra also noted that the regime’s efforts to obstruct the political process have made stable living conditions in Syria impossible.
Highlighting coordination with the Syrian National Army (SNA) regarding developments in Aleppo, he said: “I assure you that the SNA prioritizes the safety of civilians. The Syrian people are united, and no one can be marginalized.”
“Public and private properties in Aleppo are protected, and public employees will return to work.”
Al-Bahra emphasized that the SMDK is committed to safeguarding the rights of all ethnicities and groups in Syria.
Stressing that as Syrians, they do not wish to cause new migration or asylum crises, he said: “Our main goal is to find stability within our homeland.”
Death toll exceeds 500
Clashes broke out last Wednesday between Assad regime forces and armed anti-regime groups led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in rural areas of Aleppo, marking a re-escalation of the fighting after a period of relative calm in the Syrian civil war, which erupted in 2011.
Assad has announced a counter-offensive to push back the offensive.
More than 500 people have been killed in the northwest since. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, 514 people, including 92 civilians, have been killed since the clashes erupted six days ago.
Syrian and Russian warplanes launched 420 airstrikes on opposition-held areas including Idlib and Aleppo on Monday, according to the observatory.
Russia is Assad’s main backer.
Airstrikes on the opposition stronghold of Idlib, the capital of the governorate of the same name, have triggered a mass exodus.
Residents said that the water supply has collapsed, and occasional power outages have been reported.
More than 11 people, including five children, were killed in Monday’s airstrikes, while dozens were injured, according to the observatory.
The attacks targeted the Shamaat roundabout area and residential neighborhoods in the city of Idlib as well as a camp for displaced people near Harbanoush, north of Idlib, according to the group.
Syrian regime sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) earlier that its forces had launched a counter-attack and had retaken most regions that the HTS-led forces took in the countryside of Hama over the weekend.
The observatory said pro-Iranian Iraqi militia fighters had crossed from the al-Bou Kamal border with Iraq in eastern Syria over the past 24 hours to help their Syrian government allies.
It estimated that 200 fighters had crossed the Iraqi-Syrian border since Sunday.
Ankara urges talks
Meanwhile, Türkiye has called for calm and negotiations between the warring sides.
The latest events show that the Syrian regime must come to an agreement with the people and opposition forces, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a news conference in Ankara with his Iranian colleague Abbas Araghchi.
Türkiye’s aim is to see the Syrian refugees who live in Turkey return to Syria, he said.
Fidan called for a revival of the Astana talks involving Russia, Iran and Türkiye.
The current conflict is a result of “unresolved problems” in Syria where the sides failed to reach a political settlement, he added.
Türkiye, which severed ties with Assad’s regime when the civil war broke out more than a decade ago, is an advocate of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria and endorses talks between the opposition and the regime to end the long-running conflict.
Moscow and Tehran support Assad in the war, while Ankara backs the Syrian opposition forces that captured Tal Rifaat from the PKK’s Syrian wing YPG; however, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which led the advance to Aleppo, is recognized as a terrorist group and not included in the opposition supported by Türkiye.
Russia, Iran, Türkiye
Russia and Iran, another key ally to Assad, also called for coordination with Türkiye on Monday over the renewed conflict.
High-ranking officials from Russia, Iran, Türkiye and Qatar are likely to meet for talks regarding the current developments in Syria on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
Fidan too on Monday announced plans to revive the Astana Format and hold a ministerial meeting between Türkiye, Russia and Iran in the near future to regarding the settlement of the situation in Syria.
The Astana talks, also known as the Astana format, have been ongoing since 2017, with 21 meetings held to date. The Astana format includes Russia, Iran and Türkiye as guarantor countries in the process of resolving the Syrian crisis, alongside representatives of the Syrian regime and the opposition, the United Nations and observer countries: Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.