UN Chief Calls for Immediate Cessation of Hostilities in Syria

António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, has expressed deep concern over the escalating violence in northern Syria, calling for an immediate halt to the fighting, according to his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric on Monday.

In a statement, Dujarric emphasized the necessity for all parties to do everything in their power to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, particularly by allowing safe passage for those fleeing the hostilities.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that since the surprise attack by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its allied factions on November 27, the death toll in northern Syria has reached 514, including 92 civilians.

The United Nations Security Council is set to hold an emergency session on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Syria following the unexpected offensive by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its allies in the north of the country, as informed by diplomatic sources on Monday.

Meanwhile, Damascus and its ally Moscow have launched airstrikes on opposition-held areas in northwest Syria in recent hours, as the regime seeks to reclaim territories captured by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied groups in a widespread attack that began last week.

President Bashar al-Assad, supported anew by allies Russia and Iran, described the assault—the most extensive in years—as an attempt to "redraw the map" of the region. Meanwhile, Turkey, which has a military presence in northern Syria and supports armed factions, stated that the offensive is not a "foreign intervention."

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Al-Nusra Front before disassociating from Al-Qaeda) and its allied factions launched a broad attack on Wednesday, resulting in Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city, completely falling out of government control for the first time since the conflict began in 2011.

At least 11 civilians, including five children, were killed on Monday due to airstrikes conducted by Russian and Syrian aircraft on Idlib province (northwest), a major opposition stronghold, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Syrian army reported that its forces are maneuvering on several fronts in the rural areas of Aleppo, Hama, and Idlib to encircle the terrorists and expel them from the areas they have entered, fully securing them and establishing new positions in preparation for the next attack, with ongoing military reinforcements arriving.

The army's command added that "in the last 24 hours, the targeting carried out by the Syrian Arab Army in cooperation with friendly Russian forces operating in Syria continued through concentrated air, missile, and artillery strikes on terrorist positions, their depots, supply lines, and movement axes in the rural areas of Aleppo and Idlib."