“Deterring Aggression” is a military operation launched by the Syrian armed opposition factions in northwestern Syria on November 27, 2024, and said that it aims to direct a “preemptive strike against the Syrian regime forces.” This is the first breach of the contact lines between the two parties in Idlib Governorate since the “Turkish-Russian” ceasefire agreement in March 2020.
The operation came at a time when the areas of the western countryside of Aleppo witnessed clashes and violent exchanges of bombardment between regime forces and Iranian militias on the one hand, and the “Al-Fatah al-Mubin” factions on the other hand, in light of the regime forces escalating their bombing of civilian areas.
The Al-Fath Al-Mubin Operations Room, which launched the operation, was able to reach the outskirts of the city of Aleppo, the capital of northern Syria, on the third day, and control 400 square kilometers within 56 towns and villages in Aleppo and Idlib, according to statistics from the Anadolu Agency.
Process objectives
The objectives of the military operation were announced by the spokesman for the Al-Fatah Operations Room, Al-Mubin Hassan Abdel-Ghani, saying that they are manifested in:
- Breaking the enemy’s plans by directing a deliberate pre-emptive strike against his militia positions.
- Defending civilians in the face of the regime’s military mobilizations threatening the security of liberated areas.
- Returning displaced people to their homes.
- Removing the influence of the regime and militias from opposition-controlled areas in northwestern Syria, and limiting their repeated targeting of those areas with artillery and missile bombardment.
Al-Fath Al-Mubin Operations Room
“Al-Fath Al-Mubin” is an operations room formed by “Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham” in mid-2019, and aims to manage military operations in areas controlled by the “Syrian Salvation Government” in northern Syria in Idlib and the countryside of Aleppo, Latakia and Hama. It includes a number of Syrian opposition factions, most notably:
- Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham: The most prominent and largest faction in it, which is a military bloc of Syrian armed factions, consisting of the merger of 5 factions, and its establishment was announced in 2017 after the start of the Astana negotiations between the Syrian government and the opposition, with Russian, Turkish, and Iranian participation. It rejects these negotiations and considers them part of the “conspiracy against the Syrian revolution.” “.
- National Liberation Front: It is a union between a group of Syrian armed opposition factions in Idlib Governorate that was announced in August 2018, in conjunction with the regime’s threats to attack this region.
- Ahrar al-Sham movement: Its establishment was announced in 2011, and it describes itself as a “comprehensive, reformist, renewal Islamic movement, and one of the factions affiliated and integrated within the Islamic Front.” It says it is “a comprehensive military, political, social, and Islamic formation that aims to overthrow the Assad regime and build an Islamic state.”
- Army of Pride: It is considered part of the “Free Army” opposed to the Syrian regime, and is concentrated in the northern countryside of Hama and is also spread in Latakia. It is the first faction targeted by Russia at the beginning of its intervention in the Syrian war in 2015.
Most prominent stations
On the second day of the operation (November 28), The Syrian opposition announced its control of the headquarters of the 46th Regimentthe strategic town of Khan Al-Assal and dozens of other towns and villages, which led to the cutting off of the international “Aleppo-Damascus” road. It also attacked Al-Nayrab Airport, east of Aleppo, where pro-Iranian factions are stationed.
The Iranian Tasnim Agency announced the killing of a senior Iranian advisor and leader of the Revolutionary Guard, Brigadier General Kiomars Pourhashemi, known as Haj Hashem, in Aleppo during an attack launched by Syrian opposition militants.
According to the Revolutionary Guards, the Iranian leader is one of the “military advisors in Iraq and Syria,” and was a veteran of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988).
A Syrian military source said that the advance of the armed opposition factions helped them… The location is approximately 10 kilometers from the center of AleppoA few kilometers from the towns of Nubl and Al-Zahra, which are considered a defense line for the city, and where armed groups loyal to Iran are stationed.
On the third day (November 29), the Syrian opposition announced Entering the first neighborhoods of AleppoIt confirmed its control over dozens of towns and villages after fierce battles with the Syrian army and its allies that lasted 36 hours.
She added that Its fighters took control of the Operational Research Center In New Aleppo, it is now only two kilometers from the city center. The opposition also announced its control of the strategic town of Kafr Halab, west of the city, and strategic sites in the southeastern countryside of Idlib.
On that day, the Syrian regime announced the arrival of its reinforcements that it had sent to the city of Aleppo, and the Syrian Ministry of Defense said that its forces were repelling the attack, and that the attacking forces had inflicted heavy losses in equipment and lives.
The opposition spoke of the killing of more than 200 members of the Syrian army and the wounding of hundreds of others, in addition to the capture of at least 20 members, and the seizure of tanks and armored vehicles, while reports indicated that the armed factions also suffered more than 100 deaths.
