For several years, Syria's Idlib remained a battleground as Syrian government forces tried to regain control.

In 2020, Turkey and Russia brokered a ceasefire to halt a government push to retake Idlib. The truce was largely held despite sporadic fighting, writes the BBC.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its allies said on November 27 that they had launched an offensive to "curb the aggression", accusing the government and allied Iranian-backed militias of escalating attacks on civilians.

But it came at a time when the government had been weakened by years of war, sanctions and corruption, with allies Russia and Iran preoccupied by other conflicts.

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah group had recently suffered from Israel's offensive in Lebanon. Israeli strikes had eliminated Iranian military commanders in Syria, and Russia was distracted by the war in Ukraine.

Without them, Assad's forces were left exposed.