al-assad's forces. zana hoda has more from beirut. >> reporter: the russian military intervention has entered a new phase. now the air power is being used to help the syrian army launch a counter offensive against the rebels on the ground. what we saw really over the past week was russian targets hitting positions. targeting really opposition positions on the front line that surrounds government-controlled territory in the west. the aim of those air strikes were to stop the rebel advance in that area. the rebels were advancing towards the government strong hold, to weaken their defenses, and now what we understand is a major military operation on the ground, the government trying to push further north. now the opposition is telling us that they are going to fight back. they have also said that the latest offensive displaced tens of thousands of people. we have seen video of families