Syrian conflict: Assad says strife in north a bid to redraw the region's map

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Monday (Dec. 2) that the recent offensive by rebel factions in his country's north was an attempt to redraw the map of the region. President Assad made this remark during a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpartMasoud Pezeshkian.

According to a statement from the Syrian presidency, Assad said, "The terrorist escalation reflects the far-reaching goals of dividing the region and fragmenting the countries in it and redrawing the map in line with the objectives of the United States and the West."

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In a shock offensive, rebel factions breached Aleppo last Friday (November 28) and clashed with government forces for the first time since 2016. The advance on Aleppo followed a shock offensive by insurgents on Wednesday (November 26).

Rebels take stock of gains in north

President Assad's remark on Monday came as rebel factions took stock of their gains in north Syria.

In the northern town of Maaret al-Numan, rebel fighters took stock of their gains, inspecting armoured vehicles withSyrian government markings, a report by the news agency Reuters said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that more than 400 people have been killed in the major rebel offensive on government-controlled areas in the country's north.

The death toll includes214 rebels from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied factions who launched the offensive, 137 pro-government forces, and 61 civilians.

Watch: Statue of Assad's brother torn down in Aleppo

On Saturday, a statueof Bashar al-Assad's brother, Bassel, was torn down in Aleppo by armed men.

Bassel al-Assad was seen as the likely successor to his father, Hafez al-Assad, before he died in a car crash in 1994. In 2000, Bashar al-Assad became the President of Syria after his father's death.

It is not yet known who were the men who tore down the statue.

(With inputs from agencies)