SYRIA-REBEL OFFENSIVE

(241202) -- DAMASCUS, Dec. 2, 2024 (Xinhua) -- Residents are seen in the northern countryside of Hama, Syria, on Dec. 1, 2024.

A surprise offensive launched last week by a coalition of rebel groups in the western countryside of northwestern Syria's Aleppo has stretched deeper into the country still being bruised by a 13-year-long civil war.