PCMR media outputs

Date of publication: December 12, 2024

At the beginning of December 2024, Filip Sommer, Director of the Prague Center for Middle East Relations (PCMR), commented on current events in Syria in several media outlets – specifically for ČT24 on Sunday 8 December (from 13:15) and on Tuesday 10 December (from 31:10) and for CNN Prima News on 10 December (from 13:37).

Last but not least, Filip Sommer gave an interview for MF Dnes newspaper on 10 December 2024 (see attachments).

On 27 November 2024, the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a large-scale offensive on the north Syrian city of Aleppo. It subsequently went on to rapidly capture cities such as Hama, Homs and on 8 December, together with the remnants of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), captured the capital Damascus. The Syrian regime fell and President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia, where he was granted asylum.

The rapid advance of the HTS has been explained as geopolitical changes in the region, particularly the weakness of Russia and Iran, but also the unpreparedness, low motivation and capacity of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). The HTS and the FSA are the main forces that will now govern within Syria’s north-south axis. The question will be how they will be able to come to terms with the Kurdish forces especially the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

In the north of the country, pressure continues to be exerted by Turkey and its Syrian National Army (SNA) on the SDF and other Kurdish forces to limit their autonomy in the north-east. For more analysis, see the videos. 

We wish you an enjoyable viewing and reading.

Image source: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/12/08/syria-the-historic-fall-of-the-assad-regime_6735605_4.html