Syrian rebels advance
Expert: Without Putin, Assad has no chance
November 30, 2024 – 4:37 p.mReading time: 1 min.
Syrian rebels’ offensive makes Bashar al-Assad look weak. Now it depends on whether Putin can – and wants to – support his ally.
Without substantial Russian air support, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will probably not be able to retake Aleppo, said Heiko Wimmen from the International Crisis Group think tank of the German Press Agency. In this case, the rebels could potentially conquer even more territory.
But he doesn’t believe that Russia will let Assad fall. The Kremlin has invested too much in the Syrian president, who has been waging a civil war against his own population since 2011.
According to Wimmen, the fact that the rebels are now taking the offensive may have something to do with the events in Lebanon. Iran and the militias it supports are, along with Russia, Assad’s most important allies. These militias, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, have recently suffered severe blows because they indirectly participate in the Gaza war and are therefore the target of Israeli attacks. The Syrian rebels apparently recognized this as a good opportunity, said Wimmen.
