MUSCAT/BEIRUT: Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al Busaidy, Foreign Minister, discussed through a phone call with Bassam Sabbagh, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Syrian Arab Republic, the developments at the Syrian arena.
Sayyid Badr expressed the Sultanate of Oman’s solidarity with Syria. He said that Oman stresses the importance of the sovereignty and unity of Syrian territory, as well as the necessity of restoring security and stability and preventing the expansion of the scope of conflict.
Oman urges all parties to favour dialogue and political solutions in addressing challenges and reaching peaceful and conciliatory solutions for the benefit of the Syrian people and the regional security and stability, added Sayyid Badr.
Earlier, the Syrian army said on Saturday dozens of its soldiers had been killed in a major attack by rebels who swept into the city of Aleppo in the northwest.
The surprise attack has jolted the frontlines of the Syrian civil war that have largely been frozen since 2020, reviving fighting in a corner of the country near the Turkish border. The army said it was preparing a counteroffensive to restore state authority.
Acknowledging the rebel advance, the Syrian army command said insurgents had entered large parts of Aleppo, which had been under full state control since government forces drove rebels out eight years ago.
Images from Aleppo showed a group of rebel fighters gathered in the city's Saadallah al Jabiri Square after entering the city overnight, a billboard of Assad looming behind them.
The Syrian military command said militants had attacked in large numbers and from multiple directions, prompting "our armed forces to carry out a redeployment operation aimed at strengthening the defence lines in order to absorb the attack, preserve the lives of civilians and soldiers and prepare for a counterattack".
The army said bombardment had stopped the insurgents from establishing fixed positions. It promised to "expel them and restore the control of the state... over the entire city and its countryside". - Agencies
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