On January 31 morning, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies resumed their advance in the southwestern Aleppo countryside, imposing control of several new areas.
The army reportedly captured the areas of Rajm Judran, Khirbat Kharas and Tulul al-Hazmr as well as the town of al-Khalidya from al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its Turkish-backed allies.
According to pro-government sources, the SAA and its allies captured at least 17 militants of HTS while advancing in southwest Aleppo.
Click to see full-size map. Source: (@Suriyakmaps) on Twitter.
By capturing al-Khalidya, the army has effectively imposed fire control of a large part of the M5 highway. The strategic highway links Aleppo with the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Heavy clashes are still taking place in southwest Aleppo, with some sources reporting a new push by the SAA towards the towns of al-Qarasi and Qal’ajiyah to the south of al-Khalidya. The army will likely secure the two towns within a few hours.
SAA for the win ??
The devil has come to destroy just as Erdogan invaded Syria to destroy Syria.
This has been a very confusing situation to follow. Given the lack of information on relative troop numbers, I’m dejected when the SAA isn’t advancing (or worse, when the jihadis advance), and then almost incredulous when the SAA appears to be rolling, as it seems to be now. Especially when we do read reports that there are 60-70,000 jihadis in Idlib, and that the SAA is stretched thin.
If anyone can explain all this better, I would be most grateful. I certainly don’t expect all of Idlib to be liberated in the next few months, but maybe I’m wrong about that?
Execute the 17 prisoners. That’s the least we can do for them to relieve them of their misery.