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Syrian Forces Try to Cut Supply Route to Aleppo as Hezbollah’s Role Grows Top U.N. Envoy to Syria Conflict Announces Possible Truce in Aleppo
(about 4 hours later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian government forces gained ground Tuesday in a new offensive that threatened to cut off the main supply route to insurgents in the divided northern city of Aleppo, renewing their push to encircle and besiege opposition-held areas there. UNITED NATIONS — In what could be an important diplomatic breakthrough in the Syrian conflict, a senior United Nations envoy said Tuesday that he had persuaded President Bashar al-Assad to stop bombing and shelling the northern city of Aleppo as part of a proposed six-week truce.
The advance — said by insurgents and residents to be bolstered by fighters from Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite paramilitary group — came just after Hezbollah declared that it was fighting not only in Syria but also in Iraq, a further geographical and strategic expansion of its military expeditions abroad.  The announcement was made by the envoy, Staffan de Mistura, after he briefed diplomats about the proposed arrangement during a closed session of the Security Council. It also came as Mr. Assad’s forces launched a new offensive that threatened to cut off the main supply route to insurgents in Aleppo, renewing the Syrian military’s push to encircle and besiege opposition-held areas of the city.
The two developments bolstered a sense of confidence on the part of President Bashar al-Assad and his allies as the United Nations’ Syria envoy, Staffan de Mistura, prepared to brief the Security Council on his efforts to broker a freeze in fighting in Aleppo and eventually a political settlement. “The government of Syria has indicated to me its willingness to halt all types of aerial bombing and artillery shelling for a period of six weeks, all over the city of Aleppo,” Mr. de Mistura told reporters. He said the start date for the truce, which he described as a “freeze,” had not been determined and that he was heading to Damascus to discuss the details. “Facts on the ground will prove if the freeze holds and can be replicated elsewhere,” he said.
Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, declared for the first time, in a videotaped speech played at a ceremony Monday night, that the group had a relatively new, “modest” presence in Iraq, where the group’s patron, Iran, has been openly taking part in the battle against the Islamic State militant group. He also told reporters that he would ask opposition fighters to halt their rocket and mortar fire as well.
Diplomats reported earlier that Mr. de Mistura had told the Security Council he had discussed the freeze in a long meeting with Mr. Assad in Damascus last week and that he hoped it could lead to political negotiations.
It remains to be seen whether the Syrian government will make good on its pledge to Mr. de Mistura. Nor is it clear how opposition groups will react.
Mr. de Mistura proposed a freeze last September and has pushed both sides in the nearly four-year-old conflict, along with their patrons abroad, to back it. Under his proposal, the warring parties do not have to lay down their weapons, as was the case with a truce last year in the besieged city of Homs. There, government forces had surrounded and starved insurgent-held areas. A two-year siege eventually pried insurgents from Homs but left the city center in rubble.
 If Mr. de Mistura’s proposal goes into effect, it will be significant.  Not only would it offer relief to residents of Aleppo — a war zone that once was Syria’s commercial capital — it would create a platform for Mr. Assad to establish himself as a credible partner for a negotiated settlement of the war. It would also allow the government to show that it is committed to fighting the Islamic State and other radical extremist groups that have been drawn into the conflict and expanded it into neighboring Iraq.
The Syrian military’s advance Tuesday on Aleppo — said by insurgents and residents to be bolstered by fighters from Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite paramilitary group aligned with Mr. Assad — came just after Hezbollah declared that it was fighting not only in Syria but also in Iraq, a further geographical and strategic expansion of its military expeditions abroad.Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, declared for the first time, in a videotaped speech played at a ceremony Monday night, that the group had a relatively new, “modest” presence in Iraq, where the group’s patron, Iran, has been openly taking part in the battle against the Islamic State militant group.
“Let’s go anyplace where we confront this threat, which is threatening our region,” said Mr. Nasrallah, the latest sign that he sees the group’s mission as broader than defending Lebanon’s borders and protecting Mr. Assad, a crucial ally.“Let’s go anyplace where we confront this threat, which is threatening our region,” said Mr. Nasrallah, the latest sign that he sees the group’s mission as broader than defending Lebanon’s borders and protecting Mr. Assad, a crucial ally.
Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria, which has been overt and energetic since mid-2013, has played a crucial role in helping Mr. Assad fend off a nearly four-year insurgency. The move into Syria was a departure from Hezbollah’s customary focus on the conflict with Israel, and has sown divisions in Lebanon, which is split along political and sectarian lines over the Syrian conflict.Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria, which has been overt and energetic since mid-2013, has played a crucial role in helping Mr. Assad fend off a nearly four-year insurgency. The move into Syria was a departure from Hezbollah’s customary focus on the conflict with Israel, and has sown divisions in Lebanon, which is split along political and sectarian lines over the Syrian conflict.
When Hezbollah first entered Syria, its fighters kept largely to areas where it had a direct interest: near the Lebanese border, major Shiite shrines and Shiite villages. Few expected it to advance as far north as Aleppo, let alone Iraq. But as its fighters proved effective, and Syrian forces tired of battle, it has expanded its role.When Hezbollah first entered Syria, its fighters kept largely to areas where it had a direct interest: near the Lebanese border, major Shiite shrines and Shiite villages. Few expected it to advance as far north as Aleppo, let alone Iraq. But as its fighters proved effective, and Syrian forces tired of battle, it has expanded its role.
Aleppo is a crucial battlefield, where the government hopes to replicate the strategy it used in the central city of Homs, surrounding and starving insurgent-held areas. A two-year siege eventually pried insurgents from Homs but left the city center in rubble. Aleppo is a crucial battlefield, where the government hopes to replicate the strategy it used in Homs, surrounding and starving insurgent-held areas. A two-year siege eventually pried insurgents from Homs but left the city center in rubble.
Pro-government forces have been close to encircling Aleppo for months, but have not been able to budge insurgents from a crucial supply route to Turkey north of the city. On Tuesday, according to insurgent leaders, pro-government forces attacked from behind their lines from two directions, from the villages of Zahra and Handarat, seizing a number of prisoners, including women and children.Pro-government forces have been close to encircling Aleppo for months, but have not been able to budge insurgents from a crucial supply route to Turkey north of the city. On Tuesday, according to insurgent leaders, pro-government forces attacked from behind their lines from two directions, from the villages of Zahra and Handarat, seizing a number of prisoners, including women and children.
“If regime forces manage to take these villages, this will lead to the complete siege of Aleppo,” said Islam Alloush, a spokesman for the Islamic Front faction, which opposes both the government and the Islamic State. “Cutting this road means prevention of food and medicine to reach millions of people, but we emphasize that we will not let this happen.”“If regime forces manage to take these villages, this will lead to the complete siege of Aleppo,” said Islam Alloush, a spokesman for the Islamic Front faction, which opposes both the government and the Islamic State. “Cutting this road means prevention of food and medicine to reach millions of people, but we emphasize that we will not let this happen.”
A pro-government activist in Zahra, Montazer, who gave only a first name because he was not authorized to discuss operations, said the government was progressing toward putting a “military collar” on Aleppo, and insisted that only the Syrian Army was fighting.A pro-government activist in Zahra, Montazer, who gave only a first name because he was not authorized to discuss operations, said the government was progressing toward putting a “military collar” on Aleppo, and insisted that only the Syrian Army was fighting.
But Syrians involved in coordinating with Hezbollah have said the group is increasing its presence near Aleppo, and an opposition website posted a video in which an elderly resident described being briefly stopped at a checkpoint by gunmen politely identifying themselves as Hezbollah. But Syrians involved in coordinating with Hezbollah have said the group is increasing its presence near Aleppo, and an opposition website posted a video in which an resident described being briefly stopped at a checkpoint by gunmen politely identifying themselves as Hezbollah.
The revelation of Hezbollah’s presence in Iraq came days after Saad Hariri, the leader of the Sunni Future Movement, Hezbollah’s main political rival, called Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria “madness.”
Mr. Hariri — whose father, Rafik, was assassinated in 2005, setting off protests that pushed Syrian troops out of Lebanon — lives in self-imposed exile but is in Lebanon on a rare visit as the political factions try to bridge an impasse that has left the country without a president.
Mr. Nasrallah sought to build on a growing sense in Lebanon that the country must unite to keep out the threat of extremist groups, especially the Islamic State, that have risen to power during the chaos in Syria.
He said it was an illusion to believe that Lebanon could sit out the conflict, and even suggested that Hezbollah, and by extension its patron, Iran, was a more effective leader in the fight against the Islamic State than the United States, whose commitment he called into question.
“In the best-case scenario, if the United States wanted to finish this, they will not be in a hurry until after the next presidential elections,” he said.
He noted that in Iraq, the disparate factions “didn’t wait,” but banded together against the Islamic State, using weapons that he said came not from the United States but from Iran.