Is Syrian President Bashar Al Assad Finally Winning?

Hassan Hassan, The National: Rebel setbacks in Syria have far reaching consequences

Is Syrian president Bashar Al Assad finally winning? One can feel a deep sense of grief running through opposition factions whether inside or outside Syria over how events have unfolded over the past two weeks.

Pro-regime forces have made a series of major gains in northern, central and southern Syria over the past week.

More strikingly, they broke a three-year siege imposed by the rebels around the Shia towns of Nubbol and Zahraa, 20 kilometres from Aleppo city, which represents a major setback for the rebels especially as it could disrupt a game of encirclement and counter-encirclement that sustained the rebels’ control of much of Aleppo since 2012.

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WNU Editor: It is too early to say. And even if the Syrian government is successful in winning the major battles and driving the rebels out of the cities .... winning the peace after the war will be very difficult considering the terrain and sectarian make-up of this conflict.