2024 Syrian opposition offensives

2024 Syrian opposition offensives
Part of the Syrian civil war
Map of offensives in Syria   Controlled by Ba'athist Syria   Controlled by the Syrian opposition   Controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces   Controlled by the Israel Defense Forces
Date 27 November – 8 December 2024 (1 week and 4 days) Location Syria Result Syrian opposition victory Fall of the Assad regime Creation of the Syrian caretaker government Beginning of Operation Dawn of Freedom Israeli invasion of Syria begins Start of a pro-Assadist insurgency in Western Syria Territorial changes Syrian opposition groups and Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria take control of Syria Israel occupies Quneitra Governorate
Belligerents
Syrian Opposition Syrian Salvation Government Syrian Interim Government Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria[1] Jama'at Ansar al-Islam[2] Imam Bukhari Jamaat[3] Ajnad al-Kavkaz[4] Ansar al-Tawhid[3] Southern Operations Room[5][6] Syrian Free Army	Syrian Government  Iran[7]  Russia[8][9][10]  Hezbollah[11]	Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria[12] CJTF–OIR  United States [a]
Commanders and leaders
Abu Mohammad al-Julani Abdurrahman Mustafa Ahmad al-Awda Salem Turki al-Antri	Bashar al-Assad Abdul Karim Mahmoud Ibrahim Suhayl al-Hasan[13] Ali Mahmoud † Kioumars Pourhashemi †[14]	Mazloum Abdi
Units involved
Military Operations Command Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham Red Bands[15] Thermal Brigades[15] Liwa al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar[4] Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad Mujahidin Ghuroba Division National Front for Liberation Ahrar al-Sham[16] Sham Legion[17] Northern Storm Brigade[17] Jaysh al-Ahrar[18][19] Suqour al-Sham[20] Jaysh al-Izza[16] Syrian National Army Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement[21] Dawn of Freedom Operations Room[22] Liberation and Construction Movement Jaysh al-Islam[21] Levant Front[16] Sultan Murad Division[23] Joint Forces[24] Hamza Division[21] Sultan Suleiman Shah Division[21] Southern Operations Room Syrian Army 5th Corps' 8th Brigade Central Committee Sheikh al-Karama Forces Men of Dignity Al-Jabal Brigade	Syrian Armed Forces Syrian Army Syrian Air Force National Defense Forces  Russian Armed Forces  Russian Air Force Spetsnaz GRU[25][unreliable source?] Wagner Group[26]  Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force[7] Radwan Force[27]	Syrian Democratic Forces People's Defense Units Women's Protection Units[28] Al-Bab Military Council[29] Manbij Military Council[30] Tabqa Military Council[31] Ashrafieh Liberation Forces[28] Sheikh Maqsoud Liberation Forces[28]
Strength
15,000 (est. 2022)[32][discuss] 70,000–90,000 (est. 2020)[33][discuss]	170,000 (2023)[34][discuss] 50,000 (2023)[35][discuss]	100,000 (2021)[36][discuss]
Casualties and losses
311 killed[37][38] 60 killed[38] c. 1,000 killed (Assad government claim)[39]	220 killed,[38] 21 captured[40][41] 25 pro-Iranian militiamen killed[38] 15 IRGC killed[42] 1+ killed	3 killed and several captured[43][28]
111 civilians killed[note 1] 370,000 civilians displaced[44]

On 27 November 2024, a coalition of Syrian revolutionary factions called the Military Operations Command^[45] led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and supported by allied Turkish-backed groups^[46][47][48] in the Syrian National Army (SNA) launched an offensive against the Ba'athist regime's armed forces in Idlib, Aleppo and Hama Governorates in Syria. Codenamed Deterrence of Aggression^{[note 2]} by HTS, this is the first military offensive campaign launched by opposition forces in the Syrian civil war since the March 2020 Idlib ceasefire.^[49][50][51] It initially began as a localised offensive targeting towns in the Idlib and Aleppo countryside, later evolving into a nationwide campaign that culminated in the toppling of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

On 29 November 2024, HTS and later the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) entered Aleppo and captured most of the city, amid the collapse of pro-government forces. The next day, opposition forces made rapid advances, capturing dozens of towns and villages as pro-government forces disintegrated, and advanced toward Hama in central Syria, subsequently capturing it on 5 December.^[52][53] By 6 December, the SDF captured Deir ez-Zor in an offensive east of the Euphrates, while the newly formed Southern Operations Room and Al-Jabal Brigade captured Daraa and Suwayda in an offensive in the south. The HTS advanced further south toward Homs.^[54][55] The US-backed Syrian Free Army (SFA) took control of Palmyra in the southeast of the country.^[56]

On 7 December 2024, Southern Operations Room forces entered the Rif Dimashq Governorate from the south, and came within 10 kilometers of the capital Damascus.^[57][58] Later, opposition forces were reported to have entered the suburbs of the capital.^[59] SFA forces moved towards the capital from the south east.^{[60][better source needed]} By 8 December, they had captured Homs, which effectively cut Assad's forces from Syria's coast.^[61] The same day, rebels also captured the capital Damascus, toppling Bashar al-Assad's government and ending the Assad family's 53-year-long rule over the country.^[62]

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