Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sought to shore up support from his allies yesterday, after a shock rebel offensive saw government forces lose control of Aleppo for the first time since the start of the country's civil war.
Russian and Syrian jets struck the rebel-held city of Idlib in northern Syria, military sources said, as Mr Assad vowed to crush insurgents who had swept into the city of Aleppo.
The army also said it had recaptured several towns that rebels had overrun in recent days.
An Islamist-dominated rebel alliance attacked forces of the Iranian - and Russian-backed government on Wednesday, the same day a fragile ceasefire took effect in neighbouring Lebanon between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah after two months of all-out war.
The Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and allied factions now "control Aleppo city, except the neighbourhoods controlled by the Kurdish forces", Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
For the first time since the civil war started more than a decade ago, the country's second city "is out of control of Syrian regime forces", he said.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travelled to Damascus to meet Mr Assad, saying before his departure that Tehran would "firmly support the Syrian government and army", Iranian state media reported.
After the talks, Mr Assad emphasised "the importance of the support of allies and friends in confronting foreign-backed terrorist attacks".
Mr Araghchi landed late yesterday in Ankara, where he is expected to meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan later before talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Syrian and Russian aircraft had staged deadly strikes in support of government forces, according to the Observatory.
It said strikes killed at least 12 people in Aleppo and nine civilians in the rebel bastion of Idlib.
Russia's military confirmed it was helping Syrian government forces "repel terrorist aggression in the provinces of Idlib, Hama and Aleppo".
The Russian and Syrian warplanes had targeted "a gathering of terrorist organisation commanders and large groups of their members" in Aleppo province, killing "dozens", according to a military statement carried by Syrian state news agency SANA.
It also said warplanes destroyed a large vehicle convoy carrying "terrorist" ammunition and equipment in Idlib.
Resident Umm Mohamed said strikes in the area had killed her daughter-in-law, who left behind five children, including a wounded little girl.
"Thank God their injuries were minor," she said.
'Foreign interference' not behind Syria flareup - Turkey
Turkey, which backs rebel factions in Syria, rejected any suggestion that "foreign interference" was behind the offensive launched by jihadists in the country's north.
"It would be a mistake at this time to try to explain the events in Syria by any foreign interference," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said.
In 2016, the Syrian army, supported by Russian air power recaptured rebel-held areas of Aleppo, a city dominated by its landmark citadel.
Damascus also relied on Hezbollah fighters to regain swaths of Syria lost to rebels early in the war, which began in 2011 when the government crushed protests.
But Hezbollah has taken heavy losses in its fight with Israel.
Before this offensive, HTS, led by Al-Qaeda's former Syria branch, already controlled swaths of the Idlib region, the last major rebel bastion in the northwest.
HTS also held parts of the neighbouring Aleppo, Hama and Latakia provinces.
The latest fighting has killed more than 412 people, mostly combatants but also including at least 61 civilians, according to the Observatory, which has a network of sources inside Syria.
It said rebel advances met little resistance.
The army strengthened its positions around Syria's fourth largest city Hama, about 230km south of Aleppo, and sent reinforcements to the north of the surrounding province.
Rebels have taken dozens of towns across the north, including Khan Sheikhun and Maaret al-Numan, roughly halfway between Aleppo and Hama, the Observatory said.
The air strikes on parts of Aleppo were the first since 2016.
'Weak' government
Aaron Stein, president of the US-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, said "Russia's presence has thinned out considerably and quick reaction air strikes have limited utility".
He called the rebel advance "a reminder of how weak the regime is".
Aron Lund of the Century International think tank said: "Aleppo seems to be lost for the regime, and unless they manage to mount a counteroffensive soon, or unless Russia and Iran send much more support, I don't think the government will get it back."
"And a government without Aleppo is not really a functional government of Syria," he added.
The US and its allies France, Germany and Britain called yesterday for "de-escalation" in Syria, and for the protection of civilians and infrastructure.
"The current escalation only underscores the urgent need for a Syrian-led political solution to the conflict, in line with UNSCR 2254," read a statement issued by the US State Department, referencing the 2015 UN resolution that endorsed a peace process in Syria.
The US maintains hundreds of troops in northeast Syria as part of an anti-jihadist coalition.
UN envoy Geir Pedersen said the "latest developments pose severe risks to civilians and have serious implications for regional and international peace and security".
Leaving Aleppo
Inside Aleppo city, streets were mostly empty and many shops were closed yesterday as scared residents stayed at home. There was still a heavy flow of civilians leaving the city, witnesses and residents said.
Rebel fighters waving the opposition flag drove through the city, Yusuf Khatib, a resident, told Reuters by phone. Some rebels took up positions on street intersections, he added.
Ahmad Tutenji, a merchant in the affluent New Aleppo neighbourhood, said he was surprised how quickly the army left. "I am shocked at how they fled and abandoned us."
Abdullah al Halabi, a pensioner whose neighbourhood was bombed near the central area of Qasr al Baladi, said people were terrified they would see a repeat of the Russian-led bombing that killed thousands of people before driving out rebels a decade ago.
