Syrian Army, allies gain ground against rebels
UK Labour Party leader Corbyn says he could suspend Syria air strikes if elected
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Syrian Army and allied forces advanced against rebels in western Syria near Hama city on Sunday, building on recent strategic gains in the area.
Government forces captured the town of Halfaya and nearby villages, they said, taking back territory that rebels seized last year from forces loyal to President Bashar Assad.
“We gained control of Halfaya and several hills in the area,” a Syrian military source said. “The army will, of course, continue its fight.”
Boosted by Russian air strikes and Iranian-backed militias, the Syrian Army has pushed into rebel areas north of Hama, expanding its control this week along the western highway that links Damascus and Aleppo.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war-monitoring group, said the army began advancing into areas near Halfaya when rebels withdrew on Sunday, following intense battles and air strikes.
Sources on the rebel side could not immediately be reached for comment.
Warplanes have pounded Halfaya and swaths of territory near the highway in a region vitally important to Assad’s government, which has shored up its rule in the populated west of the country.
Rebel factions, spearheaded by jihadists from the former al-Qaida affiliate and also including Free Syrian Army groups, have been fighting fiercely to defend the towns in recent days.
The army’s earlier capture of Soran, its northern gateway to Hama city, meant it had reversed most of the territorial gains rebels made in their major offensive last month.
With the help of its allies, the government has gained the military upper hand in the six-year war against the wide array of rebels, including some groups supported by Turkey, the United States and Gulf monarchies.
Meanwhile Sunday, the leader of Britain’s main opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, said he could suspend British involvement in air strikes against Syria if he is elected prime minister at a June 8 election.
The veteran peace campaigner, whose Labour Party is around 20 points behind the ruling Conservatives in opinion polls, set out his position on a range of security and foreign policies, saying he would reexamine Britain’s nuclear deterrent and was against using nuclear weapons.
His comments were pounced upon by the Conservatives, who said that Corbyn posed a threat to British security and was the best reason “for sticking with the strong leadership of [Prime Minister] Theresa May.”
Corbyn told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that he believed that “the only solution in Syria is going to be a political one.
“I want us to say ‘Listen, let’s get people around the table quickly’ and a way of achieving that – suspending the strikes, possibly.”
The leftist leader, whose views on foreign policy have often been at odds with those held by other lawmakers in his party, also said he would have to consider whether he would authorize a drone strike against the leader of Islamic State to limit civilian casualties.
May, who said she had called the early election to shore up support for her divorce plan with the European Union and heal divisions in the country, looks set to win a large majority, with some polls putting support for her party at 50%.