Our Planet Climate and Geopolitics
Syrian rebel fighters were seen moving south from Aleppo yesterday having recaptured most of the city on Saturday in a tactical coup that reignited a dormant civil war and reversed gains made over several years by the Assad regime and its Russian backers.
Three points are worth making. The fighters are led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an al-Qaeda offshoot that has moderated its language for the benefit of Syrians who don’t like extremism, but is still classed as a terrorist group by the US and the UK. These are not democrats.
Second, they are Sunnis seizing a moment of Shia weakness after Israel’s punishing campaign against Hezbollah, a vital ally of Assad.
Third, they have a lesson for Ukraine: the most effective weapon against an unwelcome foreign military force is patience.
