Syria: Opposition forces besiege Hama from 3 sides, prepare to seize its military airport

Indeed, as of this afternoon, the factions began to prepare the ground for artillery and missile attacks on Hama Military Airport, in addition to the heavy shelling on Jabal Zain al-Abidin north of Hama city. The Military Operations Department said that the battle is witnessing successive withdrawals of regime forces from the positions surrounding Hama city to its interior under the attacks of the factions, in addition to evacuating banks, money exchange shops, in preparation for their complete withdrawal from the city.

Abdul Ghani urged the regime's soldiers to defect, and sent messages of reassurance to all sects, explaining that if the regime's elements and officers wanted to defect, they had only to raise a white cloth or raise their hands without weapons, and surrender themselves to the opposition fighters with promises that they would not be harmed, and to transfer those who wanted to to northern Syria under the control of the opposition.

He also addressed the people of the city of Salamiyah (which has a majority of Ismailis) located to the east of Hama province, where the regime is trying to mobilize its forces, stressing that "the city and its people are under our protection from all forms of threat or revenge, and our call stands that whoever lays down his weapon and enters his home is safe." He addressed the people of Homs located to the south of Hama, saying: "Our free people in Homs Al-Adiya, the dawn of freedom has approached, and the era of injustice and tyranny has ended, thanks to God, so be as we have known you, people of manhood and honorable positions, and write for yourselves in history pages worthy of your heroism and sacrifices."

The city of Homs is expected to be the next target for the opposition factions if they manage to control the city of Hama, and in this case the capital Damascus will be the last target for these factions. Meanwhile, the Russian warplanes targeted the western neighborhoods and outskirts of Idlib city this evening with vacuum missiles. The Syrian Civil Defense said that a number of people were injured as a result of the shelling that targeted Idlib city and its outskirts. The Civil Defense indicated that its teams today recovered the bodies of two children from under the rubble of a residential house in the town of Al-Safira, east of Aleppo, after an attack by regime aircraft that targeted the house the day before yesterday, bringing the death toll from the attack to 7 civilians, including 4 children and a woman.

Al-Julani in Aleppo: The organization is thinking of dissolving itself

On another note, the leader of "Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham" Abu Muhammad al-Julani visited the city of Aleppo today, which was controlled by opposition factions a few days ago, where he toured some of the city's neighborhoods and visited its historic citadel. "Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham" constitutes the main military body in the alliance of opposition factions that leads military operations against the Syrian regime forces.

In statements to the International Crisis Group, al-Jolani said that Aleppo would be administered by a transitional body, noting that the leadership of Tahrir al-Sham was considering dissolving itself to enable the full integration of civilian and military structures into new institutions that reflect the breadth of Syrian society. He added: “Fighters, including from Tahrir al-Sham, will be directed to leave civilian areas in the coming weeks, bureaucrats will be invited to resume their jobs, and the city’s distinct social and cultural norms, for Muslims and Christians in all their diversity, will be respected.”

Al-Jolani’s statements represent a major shift in the policy of “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham” and answer many questions about the future of the new areas controlled by the opposition, especially since “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham” is classified on international and even Turkish terrorism lists.

New Arab