Update December 1 – Northern Syria Offensive
Since yesterday, HTS has consolidated and continued their incursion into Syrian government territories. In the last few hours, Turkish-backed SNA factions have advanced and captured more villages in Shehba, a region under the DAANES’ administration.
RIC maps from December 1
RIC interviewed Menan Cehfer, a resident of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood in Aleppo, who says, “The situation is getting darker. Basic needs such as water, electricity, and bread are running out. We are under siege. It seems the militias are using an indirect approach to make us surrender. However, for us, surrender is not an option.”
Clashes are currently taking place on the outskirts of Tel Rifaat. Earlier today, Turkey shelled villages on the border between Shehba and Turkish-occupied territories.
RIC spoke with Mariyem Jindo from the Yezidi House in Shehba, who shares, “We are always ready to resist and fight any aggression. The current situation is difficult, many elderly people also live here and we fear what is coming. Since midnight, we have been witnessing bombardments by Turkey.”
Syrian government forces, aided by Russia, have been targeting the HTS and SNA with air strikes in Aleppo, Idlib, and near Tel Rifaat. The US published a statement condemning President Bashar Assad for refusing to engage in the political process outlined in UNSCR 2254, and instead, relying on Russia and Iran for support. The Iraqi government announced the closure of its national borders to Syria amid rising security concerns.
The SDF stated that “this critical moment represents a historic turning point for all Syrians” and “a grave threat to the survival of our people.” The DAANES has announced a “mobilization phase”, joining the SDF’s call for young people to join its ranks and putting all institutions “in a state of full alert”. The DAANES also made an appeal to the international community, saying the escalation “represents a threat not only to Syria, but is a new form of ISIS terrorism that will have serious regional and global repercussions.”
A video showing Abu Hatem Shaqra, from the Ahrar al-Sharqiya faction, at Kuweiris airport circulated online. In 2019, the Ahrar al-Sharqiya faction tortured and murdered Syrian Kurdish politician Hevrin Khalaf in a roadside execution. Abu Hatem Shaqra can also be seen in footage of this crime.
RIC’s 2022 report “The Syrian National Army: The Turkish Proxy Militias of Northern Syria” outlines how both military and political Syrian ‘opposition’ groups in occupied territories function as Turkish proxies.
