THE SYRIAN government has reopened Aleppo airport for civilian flights in a great victory over the US-UK axis which, supported by Turkey, has sought to keep Aleppo and Idlib provinces under the rule of pro-ISIS militias.
Transport Minister Ali Hammoud announced on Monday that Aleppo International Airport has resumed operations.
The Minister said the first flight from Damascus to Aleppo will take off today, with flights to Cairo and Damascus scheduled for the coming few days.
In a statement to SANA, Director of Civil Aviation in Syria, Bassem Mansour, said that thanks to the Syrian Arab Army securing the surroundings of Aleppo city it has become possible for safe takeoffs and landings at Aleppo International Airport. Mansour noted that the airport’s crews are ready for work.
Syrian troops took more than 30 villages and hamlets in a single day to secure the provincial capital which is Syria’s second great city after Damascus.
President Bashar al Assad greeted the victory with a speech that stressed: ‘This liberation does not mean the end of the war, but it certainly means rubbing their noses in the dirt as a prelude to their complete defeat.’ As he spoke the masses danced in the streets of the city and throughout the night.
He added: ‘It also means that we must not relax; rather we must prepare for the coming battles. Therefore, the battle to liberate the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib will continue regardless of some empty sound bubbles coming from the north, and the battle for liberating all Syrian soil, crushing terrorism, and achieving stability will also continue.’
Assad went on: ‘Our Syrian Arab Army will never hesitate to carry out its national duties, and it will be as it always has been: an army from the people and for the people.
‘Throughout history, no army has emerged victorious unless the people are united with it in its battle, and when it is united with the people in their vision and cause, and this is what we have witnessed in Aleppo and other Syrian cities, where you embraced the army it protected you, defended you, and made sacrifices for you.
‘While we are experiencing times of joy, we must remember that these moments have been made possible by years of pain, heartache, and sadness, for the loss of a dear one that gave their life for the lives and happiness of others. As we bow in honour of the greatness of our martyrs and injured people, it is also our duty to stand in honour of the greatness of their mighty families.
‘If victory is to be dedicated, then it is dedicated to them, and if anyone should receive credit for it, then they deserve the credit. I salute them for the children they raised, and salute their children for their sacrifices. I salute every one of the heroes of our great army and the supporting forces behind them. I salute the strength of their bodies in the cold and frost as we bask in warmth and safety.’
President al-Assad concluded: ‘Our beloved people in Aleppo, I congratulate you on the victory of your will, the will by which we will wage the greater battle: the battle to build Aleppo. By the will of all the Syrian people we will build Syria, and we will continue liberation, God willing.’
The victorious advance by the Syrian army is changing the balance of forces throughout the Middle East.
It is greatly encouraging and strengthening the Palestinian masses who are battling against the US-Israeli conspiracy called the ‘Deal of the Century’, a deal that will see Israel annex huge chunks of the West Bank and the Jordan Valley and deny Palestinians any right to return.
The victorious Syrian people will not stop at the liberation of Idlib and Aleppo. They will turn their attention to the Israeli occupation of Syria’s Golan Heights, and demand their return, placing themselves alongside the Palestinian masses.
The working class in the UK and throughout Europe and the USA must give their full support to the Palestinian and Syrian people.
They must demand the immediate recognition of the state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the immediate return of the Golan Heights to Syria.
