Rebel General Ahmed Hamzi
Appearances
Up First from NPR
Hunter Biden Pardon, Trump's FBI Pick, Syrian Offensive
Good morning. Yeah, well, the rebels launched this surprise offensive and made sudden massive gains. You know, the war in Syria, it's been stalemated for many years. But then in just about 72 hours, opposition militias seized the huge city of Aleppo and a string of villages around there. And then they pressed even further south, racing down towards the central city of Hama.
Up First from NPR
Hunter Biden Pardon, Trump's FBI Pick, Syrian Offensive
Rebel General Ahmed Hamzi talked to me about how quickly this all happened.
Up First from NPR
Hunter Biden Pardon, Trump's FBI Pick, Syrian Offensive
He's saying they broke through the regime's first line of defence, then the second line and then the third. Even the rebels seemed shocked by their successes. And there was this brief moment where people thought they might be able to carry on towards the capital, Damascus. But then by Sunday, the offensive had slowed. The government says it's taken back some territory in central Syria.
Up First from NPR
Hunter Biden Pardon, Trump's FBI Pick, Syrian Offensive
And there's also videos now that seem to show convoys of militias backed by the regime's ally, Iran, coming down from Iraq into Syria. to help President Assad. The regime's other ally, Russia, has stepped up airstrikes on rebel-held areas, but for now, rebels still hold most of Aleppo city and large swathes of more territory.
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Hunter Biden Pardon, Trump's FBI Pick, Syrian Offensive
Well, it's an umbrella group, some of whom are backed by Turkey. The biggest in this group is an Islamist militia. It's called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or HTS. And it has some members who have had links to al-Qaeda. And for this reason, the U.S. and Russia have designated them a terror organization.
Up First from NPR
Hunter Biden Pardon, Trump's FBI Pick, Syrian Offensive
But HDS has really tried to rebrand itself as a less hardline group, though it is still religiously conservative. And, you know, there are many in Syria who would welcome a rebel takeover because Syria is run by a brutal dictatorship.
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Hunter Biden Pardon, Trump's FBI Pick, Syrian Offensive
But this is also a country with lots of different religious sects, and there are some people who are terrified to see these gains that these Islamist factions are making. We managed to reach one woman in the government-held city of Hama, and she's from the minority Alawite sect, That's the same as the Assad families. And she was too afraid to give her name.
Up First from NPR
Hunter Biden Pardon, Trump's FBI Pick, Syrian Offensive
She says she's standing on her balcony, watching people streaming out of their homes to their cars, packing and preparing to escape as they hear the news of the rebel advance towards them. There have been sectarian massacres committed by regime militias and opposition forces in this war. Rebels here are trying to show their accepting of different groups.
Up First from NPR
Hunter Biden Pardon, Trump's FBI Pick, Syrian Offensive
In Aleppo, in the Christian neighborhood this weekend, when some fighters knocked down a Christmas tree on the street, the militia made a point of putting it back up and filming itself doing it.
Up First from NPR
Hunter Biden Pardon, Trump's FBI Pick, Syrian Offensive
Well, one reason is that Assad's key ally, Russia, is especially stretched in Ukraine. And then there's also been intense Israeli airstrikes on the regime's other ally, the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. So neither has been able to protect the regime as it has in the past in this war. And Damascus, therefore, is more exposed than it has been for many, many years.