Pro-Iranian rebels enter Syria amid escalation of tension
- 2 December, 08:59
Iranian-backed militia have deployed in Syria to back Bashar Al Assad’s regime after thousands of insurgents captured the country’s second-largest Aleppo city in a surprise offensive last week, according to two Syrian army sources.
Iranian-aligned Iraqi Hashd al Shaabi fighters from neighbouring Iraq also crossed into Syria through a military route near Al Bukamal crossing, a Syrian officer said.
"These are fresh reinforcements being sent to aid our comrades on the front lines in the north," the source said, adding that Iraq's Katiab Hezbollah and Fatemiyoun groups are among these groups.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state media on Sunday that Tehran “firmly supports” the Syrian army and government. “The Syrian army will once again be victorious over these terrorist groups as in the past,” the minister said before setting off for Syrian capital Damascus.
The reports of Iranian-backed militia’s deployment in Syria follow a London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war observer’s claims that Syrian rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham had captured Aleppo International Airport.
According to the center, Syrian insurgents now control majority of Aleppo after pushing law-enforcement agencies from the city center.
The clashes between President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and insurgents has reportedly killed 347 people, including 40 civilians – among them five children. Tehran sent thousands of Shi’ite militias during the Syrian war in 2011 along with Russia, enabling government forces crush the insurgency and regain most of its territory.
The last week’s clashes between opposition fractions and government forces marked the worst escalation of tension in recent years.
