Insurgents gain ground in Syria. What happens now?
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More than a decade of stalemate in the Syrian civil war shattered over the last week. A rebel advance took Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by surprise. Armed rebels in bulletproof jackets cheered and sang outside the ancient citadel of Aleppo, Syria's second largest city. They filmed themselves to capture the moment, huge grins on their faces. We're going to Aleppo.

Freelance journalist Sara Qasim used the opportunity to enter Aleppo for the first time since the war started in 2011. I've seen people who are very happy. They have been in Aleppo. They've never left Aleppo. And they are very happy because the opposition entered the city. Qasim, who opposes the government of Bashar al-Assad, said the people are ready to start living again after so many years of violence and uncertainty.

I asked her whether she thinks it's possible for Syrians to return to normal. The war has caused so much destruction and death. After years of stalemate, do you believe this resumption of fighting can actually lead to a positive outcome and not just more cycles of killing? I really hope so. I really hope so because...

I've seen to this moment so many people, hundreds of people happy to return back home. They are happy to return back to their villages. We have tens of villages in the countryside of Aleppo and Aleppo city. Thousands of people, really hundreds of thousands of people will return back home.

So the situation will be so much different for those people, especially people who are living in the camps in the northwest of Syria. We know that the NGOs cannot offer the people who are displaced in the camps what they need. Since Qasem and I spoke on Tuesday, the government has had another startling setback. Insurgents say they've taken control of another strategically important city.

Consider this. The Syrian civil war has been locked in a stalemate for years. Now, rebel forces are gaining ground against the oppressive regime of Bashar al-Assad. Will the group ultimately end his control over the country? From NPR, I'm Ari Shapiro.

It's Consider This from NPR. Syrian anti-government insurgents claim they've entered the city of Hama, a major Syrian government stronghold. This continues their momentum over the last week when they also seized Syria's second largest city, Aleppo.

Since the war started in 2011, half a million people have been killed and many millions of others displaced. To understand the significance of this operation, NPR's Hadil Al-Shalji joins us now. Welcome. Thank you. What more can you tell us about this latest development?

Right. So it's been three days of violent clashes between the rebel forces and pro-government forces just on the eastern outskirts of Hama. The Syrian army said that it had redeployed and repositioned outside the city in order to, quote, preserve the lives of civilians. And even though Syria's state-run media is denying that the insurgents have totally taken over the city, it's still a big deal that they're even inside. Why is the city of Hama so important?

Right. So first of all, Hama has been one of the few cities in Syria that's been completely under government control since the civil war broke out in 2011. But this is where there may be a regional consequence if Hama is taken over by the insurgents. The city is a supply route used by Iran to move arms to their Lebanese ally Hezbollah, which has, of course, been at war with Israel over the past few weeks, even though it's under a shaky ceasefire now.

The main rebel force here used to be in an alliance with al-Qaeda. They say they have changed. What are people saying in areas under their control? Right. So they took over Syria's second city, Aleppo, at the weekend. And I spoke by phone to several people there. Residents say the rebels organized civil services quickly in the city, resuming things like garbage collection and bringing back electricity after a week of intense clashes between opposition fighters and forces loyal to the Syrian regime.

Dr. Jihad Moheddin is a surgeon from Aleppo. The opposition forces' treatment has been good towards us, he says. All of the sects, Christians, Arabs, Armenians...

Those forces were led by a U.S.-designated terrorist organization called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS. HTS is a former offshoot of al-Qaeda, but broke off from the group years ago as it tried to shed its jihadist roots. Darin Khalifa is a senior advisor and Syria expert at the International Crisis Group. They are also not ideologues. At least the leadership are not ideologues. They've, of course, in their ranks had hardline elements, but they've managed over the years to kind of sideline these people.

Khalifa says that HTS has been evolving over the last few years politically, focusing on becoming a civilian government while also strengthening their military. But while it has tried to pivot its vision, their core is fundamentalist. Most residents in Aleppo say their main apprehension today is from regime airstrikes, but many just say they want a better quality of life.

Khalifa says that Aleppo's economy took a hit after it was taken over by pro-government forces and the city was cut off from the Turkish border. Aleppo was the economic heart of Syria, but all the businessmen left and don't want to come back because they don't want to be governed by a bunch of militias. But now that HTS is in control, some people are coming back and separated families are reuniting.

Activist Abdelkafi Hamdo fled Aleppo in 2016 when government forces retook the city. He came back just three days ago. I came very quickly. I mean, drove my car. And of course, it was very difficult and dangerous because the airstrikes.

But at the end, I could enter Aleppo. Dr. Moheddin says at the end of the day, people in Syria just want a fair life. He says people are thirsty for freedom and dignity and to live in a real civil society.

Reporting there from NPR's Hadil Al-Shalchi, who's still with us. And Hadil, what developments are you keeping an eye out for next? Well, can the rebels carry on this momentum? Khalifa told me that while she's not surprised the insurgents are carrying out this operation, she was stunned by how the government forces, she said, just melted away. What will be a game changer is whether or not in the next few weeks the opposition would be able to put enough pressure on the regime and take control over the area.

She says many people are wondering now if this regime can even survive this war. NPR's Hadil Al-Shulji, thank you. You're welcome. This episode was produced by Mark Rivers and Michael Levitt with audio engineering by Gilly Moon. It was edited by Courtney Dorning and James Heider. It contains reporting from Ruth Sherlock. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigan. It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Ari Shapiro.