Syria Deeply quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani on the recent uptick in violence in Syria:
Faysal Itani, Fellow, the Atlantic Council:
First there’s the uptick of fighting around Aleppo. Both ISIS and the regime have taken on a more aggressive posture there, and the regime has made some significant gains in surrounding areas of the city. With that comes direct casualties, especially from the bombardment campaign that accompanies the operations.
There were also many people killed around the gas field in central Syria, a couple of hundred deaths there. Add to that the fact that as ISIS tries to consolidate in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, they are going to come into more frequent contact with rival regime and rebel elements.
It’s not only Aleppo – there have been some mainstream rebel operations and breakouts against ISIS in the Damascus suburbs as well. So there are multiple front lines escalating at the same time.