Rani Jaber, Analysis, Baladi News
The bombing on Maarrat Al-Nu'man on Tuesday, which led to a huge massacre claiming the lives of dozens and wounding others, along with the harrowing scenes of destruction in the popular market of the city, is a crystal clear evidence of Assad's attitude toward the political process as a whole in Syria.
Assad is the biggest beneficiary of the truce in Syria and it's the only party that regained tens of kilometers of land due to the redistribution of its forces in the desert of Homs, crowning his victories with seizing control of the city of Palmyra to begin resettling his allies of Afghani fighters.
Attacking the market was the biggest breaching of the Syrian truce, which restricted the movements of the rebels to a great extent and in return gave the regime the upper hand in transporting and mustering its forces on several axes in preparation for the imminent attack on Aleppo.
There is no justification behind the massacre that took place Tuesday in Maarrat Al-Nu'man; Shelling the market with thermobaric bombs at rush hour has no military reason whatsoever. The city is far from the front lines by at least 20 kilometers, but it is considered the key to southern Idlib.
The regime failed to achieve its plan of connecting Tel Al-Eis with "Kafriya and Al-Fu'ah" in an attempt to separate Aleppo from Idlib, then to expand towards the Turkish borders.
The plan was to head south to separate Idlib from Turkey by controlling the border line in the western countryside of the city (along with separating Aleppo from Turkey by heading north) in an imitation of the tactics used by Russians in Chechnya which depend on fragmenting the areas and isolating them from each other to focus on them one by one.
It seems that the regime intends to put pressure on many fronts to achieve its objectives in the battle of Aleppo, including Idlib and its countryside and perhaps launching a battle somewhere else to scatter the rebels on many fronts, including the southern countryside of Idlib. In addition to pressure the rebels by targeting civilians and committing massacres resulting in waves of displacement towards the Turkish borders specific, in order to burden Turkey and continue the demographic change process.
Another reason is to twist the negotiating delegation's arm in Geneva which announced the suspension of negotiations, where Assad is trying to hold the rebels responsible for the collapsing of "truce". Shelling Maarrat Al-Nu'man is one of the steps leading to the attack by the Syrian government forces on Aleppo, where they seek to regain control of the city after presenting themselves to be fighting terrorism.