Assad’s regime seemingly came out of nowhere, and as Aleppo fell to Turkish-backed rebels in a matter of days, the Syrian president reportedly flew to Moscow.

In just a few days, a patchwork of rebel forces has seized control of a broad stretch of land in the west and northwest of Syria. But it’s unclear just how much support Syria’s weakened allies can provide.

The Syrian army has upped its airstrikes on Monday against the rebel forces that took Aleppo, with Iran-backed Iraqi militias crossing the border to aid President Bashar al-Assad’s government, according to local reports.