ALEPPO, Syria — The siege policy pursued by the Syrian regime against rebellious regions and cities has proven to be the most effective means to subdue them. This method has been utilized by the regime from Homs to Damascus and its suburbs, where the strategy of starvation proved its effectiveness as a weapon to force the rebels into abandoning their demands.

All eyes are turned north now toward Aleppo, the largest opposition stronghold in Syria, after the rebels in Homs accepted a deal with the regime that resulted in their retreat from the Old City on May 7. The facts on the ground indicate that the regime plans to adopt the same strategy that proved successful in Homs in Aleppo, whereby "liberated" areas of the city would be isolated from its countryside and the siege slowly tightened around them.

After recruiting fighters in the so-called National Defense Force and Baath Brigades, regime forces — with the help of Iran, Iraqi Shiite brigades and Hezbollah — have succeeded in controlling large swaths of land in Aleppo’s southern countryside, from the strategically located Khanaser village, all the way to Sfeira, adjacent to the defense factories.

As a result, regime forces secured a supply route to the neighborhoods and military barracks under their control in the west of Aleppo, as well as Aleppo International Airport in the east. Regime forces did not stop there, they headed northeast and managed to reach the Nakareen and Sheikh Najjar areas in January. They also managed to cut off one of the vital roads linking the "liberated" areas of Aleppo with its northern countryside in April.