Assad predicts final victory after gains in northern Syria

Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad congratulated his forces Monday for recent gains in northwestern Syria that led to his troops consolidating control over Aleppo province.
In a televised address, Assad vowed to achieve “complete victory”, saying that Aleppo, the provincial capital, will “return stronger than it was before”.
“This liberation does not mean the end of the war, and does not mean the end of the schemes nor the end of terrorism or the surrender of enemies. But it means that we rubbed their noses in the dirt as a prelude for complete victory and ahead of their defeat, sooner or later”, Assad said.
The UN said the ongoing military advance in the country’s north “has reached a horrifying level”.
In recent weeks, Syria’s government troops backed by Russian warplanes have captured more than 1,500 square kilometers of rebel territory in the northwest. In one day, they seized an area that they could not take for eight years, including the city of Aleppo, which was Syria’s commercial center before the war.
Assad’s forces also seized control of the important M5 highway for the first time in eight years. The M5 was once a major commercial route linking Syria’s capital, Damascus, with the northern city of Aleppo. It runs through Aleppo and Idlib provinces and is said to be key to controlling the country.
“We should not rest, but continue to prepare for the coming battles, and therefore the battle of liberating Aleppo countryside and Idlib will continue, despite the empty noise that is coming from the north (Turkey)”, Assad said , vowing to continue to chase armed groups “wherever they are”.
Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Assad to halt the advance, which also risks shattering an alliance forged between Russia, who backs Assad, and Turkey, who backs the rebels.
On Monday, a Turkish delegation visited Moscow to discuss the crisis. According to the military, it “stressed the need to quickly reduce tensions on the field and to prevent the further deterioration of the humanitarian situation”.
The war in Syria started with a popular movement against Assad’s rule that was brutally repressed. More than 380,000 people were killed in nine years and about half of the country’s population is displaced.