Syrian President Bashar Assad has asserted that the country continues to defend its territorial integrity and is capable of destroying terrorists with the help of friends and allies, his office said on Sunday.
Assad held a phone conversation with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Saturday to discuss the latest developments in Syria and a number of regional issues, Sputnik reported.
“President Assad said during the conversation that Syria continues to defend its stability and territorial integrity from all terrorists and those who support them and is capable of defeating and destroying them with the help of allies and friends,” the statement read.
Later in the day, the country’s armed forces said that the army is successfully repelling the terrorist attack, adding that a counteroffensive is soon to follow.
“The command of the army and armed forces confirms that the process of repelling a terrorist attack is proceeding successfully and decisively. Soon, a counteroffensive will take place to regain control over all areas and free them from the contamination of terrorism,” the statement read.
Syrian army reinforcements arrived in Hama, government agencies are operating as usual, the governor of the province, Kamal Barmo, said.
“Government agencies and services in the province are operating as usual,” Barmo told Syrian broadcaster Sham FM.
He also denounced reports of terrorist vehicles entering Hama as false. Earlier, the Syrian Defense Ministry dismissed claims about the entry of terrorist groups into cities in northern Hama province as untrue.
However, a CNN report said Syrian opposition forces have taken control of much of the country’s second-largest city Aleppo after a lightning advance that killed dozens of government soldiers in a major challenge to Bashar al-Assad.
A rebel alliance launched a surprise attack this week, sweeping eastward through villages outside the city and reigniting a conflict that had been largely static for years. It is the first time Syrianc rebels have set foot in Aleppo since government forces regained control during the civil war in 2016, according to a CNN report.
By Saturday, rebel fighters had taken control of large swathes of the city, according to footage geolocated by CNN.
Rebel fighters have been seen at key locations, with one video showing armed men waving an opposition flag and yelling “God is great” in Arabic at a central square.
The rebels also claim to have taken the city’s airport.
The only exception appears to be the northeastern part of the city, where a few neighborhoods remain under the control of government forces and Iranian militia allies.
The rebel forces have declared a 24-hour-curfew to begin at 5 p.m. local time Saturday, which they said was to ensure “the safety of the residents of the city and to secure private and public property from tampering or harm.”
The armed conflict in Syria has been ongoing since 2011, with various insurgent groups, including terrorist organizations, fighting each other and the Syrian armed forces. In 2017, Russia, Turkey and Iran launched a mediation group on the Syrian settlement in the Kazakh capital of Astana.
The format also includes representatives from the Syrian government and opposition, the UN and observer countries, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.
