DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian President Bashar Assad tells his troops today they are close to winning the country’s seven-year war after inflicting a succession of defeats on rebels.
Early last year, government forces held just 17 percent of the country’s territory but a series of blistering offensives has since forced the rebels out of many of their strongholds, putting Assad’s government back in control of nearly two-thirds of Syria.
“Our date with victory is near,” Assad writes in an open letter to the rank and file.
“They (the rebels) were ultimately forced to leave — humiliated, rolled back, their tails between their legs — after you gave them a taste of bitter defeat.”
Much of the territory was recaptured without any ground fighting as the rebels reluctantly agreed to leave their bombed out enclaves in Russian-protected convoys.
The army has been bolstered in its offensives by Russian air strikes, Iranian military advisers and militiamen from Lebanon, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Government troops are now mopping up the remaining rebel pockets in the south, and last week Assad promised a similar offensive against the rebels’ last major stronghold — Idlib province in the northwest.
— AFP
Syrian regime soldiers stand next to a picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad hanging on a tank at the Nassib border crossing with Jordan in the southern province of Daraa on July 7, 2018. (AFP Photo/Youssef Karwashan)
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
