December 22, 2016
By Elliot Hannon
...Syrian state TV broadcast (click here) an army statement declaring the defeat of rebels there was part of a "strategic transformation and a turning point in the war on terrorism and a deadly blow to the terrorist project and its supporters.” Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said the victory was also one for Russia and Iran, whose air raids and militias helped boost the Syrian government and turn the tide in the besieged city.
Daesh is defeated. I am curious how al-Nursa is doing.
...Al-Nusra has, (click here) since 2012, been one of the largest and most influential groupings in the Syrian conflict....
It may be that rebels of all kind have been defeated. Al Nusra has been a law enforcement agent to the people that lived in Syria. It will be interesting what has occurred in Syria in relation to small militias such as al Nusra. I think Assad wanted to end the divisions in the country. It is a civil war.
“The rebel evacuations were set in motion last week after Syria's opposition agreed to surrender its last footholds in eastern Aleppo. Since then, some 35,000 fighters and civilians have been bussed out, according to the United Nations,” Agence France-Presse reports. “The departure of the last convoy paves the way for Assad to assume full control after more than four years of fighting over Syria's largest city. It marks his most significant victory since an uprising against his family's four-decade rule swept the country in 2011.”
“The arrival of thousands of refugees from Aleppo in Idlib aroused fears that the rebel-held city in northwestern Syria could be next,” according to Reuters. “Assad has said the war is far from over and his armed forces would march on other rebel areas.”...
What is Assad doing to secure Aleppo to prevent a return to fighting before moving on to Idlib? That has been the problem in Syria. The so called terrorist groups such as al Nusra were the law enforcement to communities across Syria. If the rebels are defeated and there is no power sharing agreement, where are the ground forces that will hold Aleppo to prevent the return to fighting and/or the return of crime.
Assad has to do more than kill with the assistance of Russia and Iran, he has to govern. What are his plans to return function to Aleppo so citizens can go home and begin rebuilding their markets and homes.
