Two rebel groups are leading the push. One is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham ( HTS ), which emerged from al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate. It cut ties with the jihadist group in 2017 and has since set up a provisional government in rebel-held Idlib province in north-west Syria. The other faction, the Syrian National Army ( SNA ), is a Turkish proxy.

Turkey will be the key player in ending the rebel push by Syrian insurgents against President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria’s devastating civil war, responsible for more than 300,000 deaths, was never officially resolved. Lightning gains by rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad were opportunistic, but also indicated years of patient preparations.