After Aleppo, it is Hama’s turn to fall into the hands of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The Syrian army, despite the support of the Russian air force, preferred to withdraw from a city that is naturally hostile to it. The regime of Bashar al-Assad will try to build a more sustainable line of defense by relying on the Tel Salhab, Homs and Salamyeh axis. Central Syria has a large Alawite, Ismaili, Shiite and Christian population more hostile to HTS than the Sunnis of Aleppo and Hama. In the East, the SDF is trying to connect Tabqa to Manbij to prevent the pro-Turkish rebels of the “Syrian National Army” from seizing the water station that supplies Aleppo from Lake Assad. This could constitute a bargaining chip with Turkey, which controls the Allouk spring that supplies Hasaka and has not let water through since 2019.
Syrian mosaïc Fabrice Balanche
