Immediately after breaking the siege of Nubl and al-Zahraa, the Syrian army units together with their allies continued their advance in the surrounding areas.Backed by Russian and Syrian fighters, these forces conducted artillery and missile attacks in towns of Bianon and Mayer in northeast and southeast of al-Zahraa and began to clear the towns of rebel forces.
At the same time, the Kurdish popular forces in strategic town of Afrin in northwest of Nubl and al-Zahraa, helped to clear up the village of Al-Ziyarah and Khraybeh in Shirava district; meanwhile, al-Nusra Forces were also driven back. Many of the militants along with their families have reportedly been fleeing the town of Aleppo.Rapid advances in Aleppo governorate have also encouraged the US media to speculate that Syrian government forces are quite likely to seize back the town within the next few days.
The Washington Post noting the dominance of the government forces on several other villages a day after ending the blockade of Nubl and al-Zahraa, reported that these advances have given rise to the speculation among the residents and insurgents of the town that Aleppo would soon be completely besieged. The report added: "the fall of Aleppo ... would potentially be a heavy blow to the five-year uprising against the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Quoting Mack Gross, one of the directors of relief groups in Turkish border, the Washington Post claimed the opposition forces are losing ground all the time.
Syrian military analysts also stressed that recent advances would help the Resistance Forces to defeat the terrorists in the suburb of Aleppo. Sabet Mohamad, a retired Major General of the Syrian army said to Fars News Agency that breaking the siege of Nubl and al-Zahraa would change the military operations in the northern region of Aleppo. However, this has not been the only victory of the Syrian army over the last few days. Azaz to Aleppo road has been closed to terrorists, especially for Jabhat al-Nusra, as a result they will be besieged in the neighborhoods within Aleppo, and the countdown has begun to end of the presence of terrorists in Aleppo and Rif.
Idlib Axis
In addition to Aleppo, breaking the siege of Nubl and al-Zahraa has had a direct impact on the role of Idlib battle, because one of the main supply routes to the terrorists in Idlib governorate has been cut off. This route begins from ISIS-controlled areas in the northeast of Aleppo and goes to rebel-held areas in Idlib and Aleppo which are mainly controlled by a coalition of Jaish al-Fatah in Idlib and Aleppo. Jaish al-Fatah is an alliance of Salafist groups such as Ahrar Ash-Sham and Jabhat al-Nusra formed in early 2015 under the direct supervision of Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which succeeded to seize control of Idlib governorate in mid-2015.
ISIS makes use of this route to sell oil to Jaish al-Fatah in exchange for food and other supplies. As the supply route is cut, the terrorists in Idlib will be in tough conditions, as this route has been the most important route for supplying the fuel, a point which has raised serious concerns for the terrorists. Syria Direct website, which is attributed to Syrian opposition noting that the Syrian regime forces cut the vital supply routes, cited opposition journalists that fuel crisis would lead to a military and human disaster in northwestern Idlib. If the Syrian government forces continue their advances in Latakia Axis and manage to wrest control of Bab al-Hawa border crossing, Idlib governorate would also be completely surrounded by government forces.
Reactions to Saudi initiative
As Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday that it is ready to deploy ground troops in Syria to allegedly fight against the ISIS terrorist group, Washington and Moscow adopted different stances about the Saudi position. US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter welcomed Saudi initiative for participation in any ground operations against the terrorist networks of the "Islamic State" in Syria. Carter reiterated the enhanced cooperation of other members of the international coalition would help the United States to accelerate the fight against the terrorist network. However, Moscow argued that Saudi Arabia's plan would be a formal declaration of war.
According to Interfax, the Russian Duma spokesman said that "the deployment of Saudi troops in Syria, is virtually tantamount to a declaration of war." Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in response to the Saudi military officials said: "has Saudi Arabia defeated all its opponents in Yemen that it is now proposing to send troops into Syria?" Vladimir Peskov, the press spokesman for the President of Russia said that the Russian government carefully pursues the Saudi plan for deploying troops in Syria.
By Alwaght
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