Syrian ground troops continue to gain territory at a rapid pace in the contested city of Aleppo, and today the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Old City district, which troops just entered yesterday, has already fallen outright, forcing rebels out of one of their last territories in the major city.
The rebels, as is often the case, downplayed the losses, saying that they have not totally abandoned the Old City and are still fighting there. The rebels had similarly denied that the troops had even entered the Old City yesterday, and while the fighting may well be raging, their territory continues to shrink.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was upbeat about it in an interview, saying that the “upcoming victory” in Aleppo would change the entire course of the war, and be a “huge step” toward ending the Civil War outright..
Syrian factions have insisted Aleppo would be the key to the war since it was first contested in 2012, though what is left of Aleppo after years of heavy fighting is far from the city which was once Syria’s financial and industrial capital. Though the publicity value of such a victory is still huge, it’s not at all clear what practical value it will have on the ground anymore, beyond allowing a shift of forces to contest other areas for whoever ultimately controls it.
It is hard to believe the drumbeat of Aleppo “not of any practical value…”, and similar versions of the same.
It does matter to the people of Aleppo who have been held hostage all these years. It matters to parents that had to hide kids, as girls were kidnapped for “marriage” to terrorists, while boys were hunted by “recruiters”. It matters to sick, who have not been permitted to leave the city to get treatment. It matters to families that have not seen their relatives all these years. It matters to those that could not wait to get out of hell they lived in — and to those that lost their loved ones to executions by the terrorists just days before being freed up. It matters to a lots of people.
What is it that prevents people from seeing what is at stake in taking the battle to such monsters, and having guts to persevere. And, amazingly, the whole Western lying establishment and its media continue to mourn the loss of Aleppo! The lies are so monumental, that it takes breath away. Not being able to point out to ONE GROUP, or ONE INDIVIDUAL LEADER of those groups in Aleppo that were not involved in brutal killing and torture of human beings? Just one, please. Why is everyone so acting dumb, and pretending that somehow in Aleppo a worthy revolution died, instead of revolting pack of sociopaths?
And the question remains, what will happen to all those that surrender, or blend among tens of thousands of civilians that took advantage of chaos and fled? These are the people that cannot be reintegrated into the society, and be able to live a normal life after all the depraved acts of brutality they committed.
Obama in his last speech acted presidential, and lamented that Right makes Might, not the other way around. I hate to say it, but there are times when the might makes right, and this is one of them. Without somebody taking it to the brutal, drug-crazed butchers, civilians would have had no hope. And yet.. Obama and the collective West are so lost, they are living in a fantasy of their own, mourning the loss of their regime change project. After being soft on terrorists for years on end, and after training, arming and “vetting” them, the project devolved into the brutal deeds of Al-Nusra, Army of God, Jaish Al-Islam, Al-Zinka and their fellow travelers in Aleppo.
And hopefully, we will no longer be treated to terrorist-provided information fed into Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a one man outfit out of Coventry, England. This glorifying of terrorists of Aleppo I am afraid will never end. Of course, the purpose is to stand in judgment over Assad and his army, and Russians that helped them.
But those people coming now out of Aleppo will notice that not a single blanket, a single ration of food, water, baby food, or warm clothes came from the West. Such descent into inhumanity is not something anybody expected. It is disturbing.
Hey, Ditz, people are now laughing at you on Twitter as much as they are at Boris Johnson. I did my bit at making you famous. You totally deserve it by copy pasting the same paragraph at the end of every article you write on Aleppo. Yes, Ditz, Aleppo is important. Yes.
Congrats to the Syrian Army.
The practical value of cleansing Aleppo and the rest of the country of the terrorists is: 1. The government would be able to start the political reform and rebuild the country. 2. It would be possible to start to repair the damage done to the relationship between the different ethnic and religious groups. 3. If successful, it would be a great step to the victory over the radical Islamists and their sponsors worldwide.
You hit it on the head with 2. Russia has started a program a while ago called the Reconciliation Agreements. By now there are over 1,000 such agreements signed. The problem that terror groups caused is incalculable. At first, many communities were confused, and supported some of the groups. What it did — crated rift among neighboring villages and townships. But over time, it became clear to people what is going on, and realized that these groups are foreign supported. The support for groups disappeared, and many villagers actually kicked them out of their places. However, the damage was done. Many communities, especially those hard hit — Shia and Christian — were estranged from their Sunni neighbors. The Reconciliation Agreements actually have these communities commit to work with each other, and Government to help them to do it. Syrian Army only stayed in some of those communities to insure they are coping on their own, and then policing was transferred to locals. When terrorists did not leave of their own, and Syrian Army was needed to have them either relocated voluntarily, or defeated — such Agreements were needed to insure that the damage done by the terror groups did not harm the relationships within communities. Russian staff is actually monitoring agreements, and the distribution of aid.
Congrats to Mr. Assad and the Syrian army. Perhaps this will
be a step in the right direction for ending this nightmare that has
devastated Syria and held its people hostage.
One used to hear the reason for an unwillingness to stop the defense of Aleppo was because defeat of the terrorists was imminent. I guess they were right. Congrats to Syria.