What messages lie behind Assad’s visit to southern Idlib?
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s recent visit to the front line in southern Idlib province raised controversy and questions among opposition forces about Assad's goals and what messages he might have been sending — and to whom.
ALEPPO, Syria — Syrian and Russian aircraft launched dozens of air raids this week on several opposition-held towns and villages in southwest Idlib province, the Kurd and Turkmen mountains and Kabanah in northern Latakia.
A Nov. 4 raid killed at least three civilians in Idlib's Jisr al-Shughur, and since then there have been reports that the forces bombed a hospital in Shinan.
Although official military operations of the Syrian government, Russian forces and their allies halted Aug. 31 after Russia announced a cease-fire, limited raids have continued. The forces have been leading ground attacks on Kabanah since Oct. 24, but their repeated attempts have failed and they have incurred significant losses. Fighters of the Islamist militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the Turkish-backed rebel coalition the National Liberation Front are stationed on battlefronts in opposition-controlled areas.
On Nov. 1, opposition factions launched a wide-scale military attack in northern Latakia and advanced against government forces on several axes. They took control of strategic areas in the mountains and Kabanah. The factions held these locations for 12 hours before retreating — only after causing huge material and human losses on government forces.
