Russian and Syrian fighter jets struck targets across territory seized by rebels in northwestern Syria on Monday, according to Syrian state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The forceful response made clear that Russia, one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s staunchest allies, intended to keep supporting him in the face of a sudden rebel advance.
Both Russia and Iran, another key ally of the Syrian leader, , also expressed support through diplomatic channels on Monday for Mr. Al-Assad, whom they have propped up with military aid since the Syrian civil war first threatened his autocratic rule in 2011.
It is not yet clear whether they will be able to help hold off the rebels. On the other side, the rebels’ startling gains appeared to embolden the opposition in exile, with one of its leaders demanding on Monday that Mr. al-Assad commit to a political transition.
The opposition leader, Hadi al-Bahra, spoke from Turkey as rebels continued their advance through Aleppo, once Syria’s largest city, and the surrounding areas.
In just a few days, the patchwork of forces has seized control of a broad stretch of land in the west and northwest of the country, according to the rebels and the Observatory, a British-based war monitor.
While Mr. Al-Bahra does not speak for the rebels, their capture of Aleppo has seemingly reinvigorated his group’s longstanding demands for a democratic transition.
Mr. Al-Bahra heads a group of political and military organizations known as the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces that oppose Mr. Al-Assad. The group claims to represent a majority of opposition parties, but it has become increasingly irrelevant as the Syrian civil war has dragged into its second decade.
He told a news conference broadcast from his base in Istanbul that the rebel offensive was supported by a population weary of crimes committed by Mr. al-Assad along with his Iranian and Russian backers.
The fighting will continue, he said, until the Syrian leader acquiesces — a prospect that Mr. Al-Bahra said the opposition was prepared for.
Negotiations could start “tomorrow,” he added.
Mr. Al-Bahra demanded the implementation of the stalled 2015 United Nations Security Council resolution 2254, which lays out a road map for Syria’s political transition, starting with a cease-fire. It is, he said, “the only sustainable political solution in Syria.”
“We have the right to use whatever means to ensure its implementation,” he said.
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