After a bloody conflict in southern Lebanon lasting over 56 days, the news of Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire agreement on 26 November brought in a ray of hope for peace and safety of people returning to their homes on either side of the border in southern Lebanon. However, on the very next day, a surprise attack by multiple militant groups into northern Syria once again brought the spectre of war and destruction back to the region. The attack which was launched by a combination of forces led by the Sunni terror group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) took the Syrian army by total surprise and by 29 November, the terror groups had captured many areas in the north and north-west including the important cities of Aleppo and Idlib.
The attack was like a blitz and launched simultaneously along two fronts, ie. Aleppo in the north and Idlib in the north-west. The HTS was supported by two other primary groups: Syrian National Army (SNA), also known as Free Syrian Army, which is a Turkey backed group, and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is largely made up of Kurdish fighters also known as the Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG). The SDF is, however, considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey as it has been fighting along with other Kurdish groups in southern Turkey.
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