Syrian Rebels Gain Surprising Ground, Former Intel Chief Suggests Russia is Stepping Back

In a recent online post, Richard Grenell, who once served as the acting director of National Intelligence under President Trump, shared an interesting observation. He suggested that Russia might be allowing Syrian rebels to take control from President Bashar al-Assad. This comes as rebels have made swift advances in northern Syria, including capturing most of Aleppo, the country's second-largest city. Russia has been supportive of Assad since 2015, with thousands of their personnel in Syria. However, their air force hasn't been able to stop the rebels' latest offensive. This is a sharp turn from 2016 when Assad's forces, backed by Russia and Iran, took Aleppo after years of intense fighting. Grenell's comment sparked attention. He wrote, "Russia seems to be letting the Syrian rebels overthrow Assad. Big. Time to play chess. " This is a notable shift, especially considering Russia's historical support for Assad.

The rebel groups involved in the current offensive include Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which has ties to Al-Qaeda. Despite social media reports suggesting Russian special forces casualties, these claims haven't been verified. Syria's army acknowledged the rebel advance in Aleppo, vowing to push them out. They stated, "The large numbers of terrorists and the multiplicity of battlefronts prompted our armed forces to carry out a redeployment operation aimed at strengthening the defense lines. " Elsewhere, rebels also captured Maraat al Numan in the northwestern Idlib province. Some experts attribute this success to the distraction of Assad's allies, like Hezbollah and Iran, due to their conflict with Israel. Liz Sly, a former Washington Post reporter, commented on the advance, "Simply astonishing advances by Syrian rebels into Aleppo. In just a few hours, they've overrun parts of the city they couldn't take in 4 years of fighting a decade ago. It goes to show how much the Assad regime was depending on Hezbollah and Iran for its survival. "

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