Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi emphasized on the visit, according to Iranian state media outlets, that the developments in Syria are of great interest to Iraq and could cause a spillover of militia violence in the country. An Iraqi government spokesman, Basim al-Awadi, told the Kurdish outlet Rudaw on Friday that, despite the apparent pressure from Iran, Assad had not requested Iraq send military backup to help him fight the rebel militias in his country and Baghdad does not intent to “make a military intervention in Syria.”
Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011 that fell largely dormant after the collapse of the Islamic State in 2017 and Assad’s successful campaign against Sunni rebel groups. Last week, however, that status changed dramatically as fighter associated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Sunni jihadist militia formerly known as the Nusra Front with ties to al-Qaeda, captured Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city. HTS followed that campaign up with what appears to be the successful conquest of another city, Hama, on Thursday, and reports that their jihadis are marching towards Homs following that victory. (Read More)
