Northwestern Syria offensive (April–August 2019)
Syrian government military operation against rebels / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2019 northwestern Syria offensive, codenamed "Dawn of Idlib" (Arabic: فجر إدلب),[46] was a military operation launched on 30 April 2019 by the Syrian Armed Forces and its allies against rebel groups in northwestern Syria during the Syrian civil war in a region known as "Greater Idlib",[47][48][49] consisting of northwest Hama, southern Idlib and northeastern Latakia provinces. The government's main objectives were to open the M5 highway and to expel non-compliant militant groups, particularly the internationally proscribed al-Qaeda-linked group known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS),[50][51][52] from the 15–20 km demilitarized zone demarcated by Turkey and the Russian Federation at Sochi in 2018.[53] The offensive was seen by both parties as crucial to the outcome of the war.[54][55][56]
Northwestern Syria offensive (April–August 2019) | |||||||||
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Part of the Syrian Civil War | |||||||||
Situation in northwestern Syria as of 31 August 2019. Locations of Turkish and Russian outposts are pictured. Syrian Army control Syrian Opposition control Syrian Army & SDF control | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Syria
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Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Turkey (sporadic clashes) | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Maj. Gen. Maher al-Assad Brig. Gen. Suheil al-Hassan Colonel Ghiath Dalla Colonel Bashar Ratabah †[13] Nizar Mahmoud †[14] Major Alaa Mohammed Khaddour †[15] Abdullah Sabah Ajaj †[15] |
Abu Mohammad al-Julani[16] Osama Hussein al-Dib † Mansur Dagestani †[9] Maj. Jamil al-Saleh (WIA) Abdul Baset al-Sarout †[17] Abu Muhammad al-Muhajir Abu Riad al-Deiri †[18] Abu Musab al-Tunisi (Jaysh al-Ahrar commander) †[19] Abu Setif al-Binnishi (Jaysh al-Ahrar commander) †[19] Abu Qatada al-Homsi (Jaysh al-Ahrar commander) †[19] Abu Salman Belarus (Malhama Tactical leader) †[20][21] Abu Omar al Dayk(Faylaq al-Sham commander) †[22] Mohammad Husein Qasem(Faylaq al-Sham commander) †[23][24] Sayf Balud[25] (Hamza Division) Abdullah Halawa[25] (Hamza Division) | ||||||||
Units involved | |||||||||
Palestinian Syrian militias |
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
National Front for Liberation
Jaysh al-Izza
Rouse the Believers Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army[11]
Taliban Movement of Salah al-Din the Kurd[41] | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
Unknown | 60,000[42] | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
1,391 killed[43] 1 SyAAF Su-22 shot down[44] |
1,659 killed[43] 1 killed[45] | ||||||||
1,043 civilians killed[43] |
On 1 August 2019, the Syrian government declared that it would halt its operation on Idlib on the next day. In response, Tahrir al-Sham stated that the truce proved "the failure of the criminal regime’s military operation against the liberated north."[57] In response to HTS refusal to agree to a ceasefire, alongside HTS' refusal to comply with the parameters of the Sochi Agreement,[58] the Syrian Army resumed the offensive on 5 August, capturing numerous villages and strategic hilltops[59] in southern Idlib before seizing Khan Shaykhun and subsequently the entire rebel-held pocket in southern Idlib.
During the course of the offensive, the Syrian and Russian air forces continually conducted airstrikes against rebel positions, while pro-government ground forces intensively targeted them with surface-to-surface missiles and heavy artillery on a daily basis.[60][61]