Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may be on his own in fending off the insurgent rebels who seized most of the capital city of Aleppo in a surprise offensive, according to a foreign affairs expert.

The jihadist insurgent group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, launched a two-pronged attack on Aleppo and the countryside around Idlib before moving toward Hama province on Wednesday.

In response, the Syrian military was called to form a “strong defensive line” in northern Hama against the insurgents, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

At least 15 people were reportedly killed by jets that hit the cities of Idlib and Aleppo, according to a group that operates in opposition-held areas.

The escalation has sparked fears of another destructive and destabilizing front reopening in the Middle East as Israel is fighting on two fronts in the south against Hamas in Gaza and in the north against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has threatened wider regional war.

The developments in Syria also risk involving Russia and Turkey, both of whom have interests in Syria.

The attack was announced as Israel and Hezbollah were finalizing a ceasefire deal, which restored some hope for de-escalation in the region.

It is a huge embarrassment for the Assad regime, which has fought insurgents in a civil war since 2011.

It also comes at a time when his key allies, Iran and its proxies as well as Russia, are preoccupied with their own conflicts.

“Bashar al Asad, the N London ophthalmologist turned Syrian dictator, is in trouble,” wrote John Simpson, a foreign correspondent and world affairs editor of BBC News, on X.

“His Russian & Iranian friends have their hands full and can’t give him the service military help he needs to defeat the opposition forces who have captured large parts of Aleppo.”