Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, otherwise known as Bashar Assad’s lifeline in Syria, have bigger fish to fry at the moment.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a reignited Syrian civil war, mass protests over Georgia ’s suspended European Union accession bid, and U.S. export restrictions on China ’s semiconductor industry.

Islamist rebels in Syria are taking the fight to the Assad regime. According to activists, Shiite militants have begun arriving in eastern Syria to fight alongside government troops battling rebels who drove Assad's forces out of Aleppo last week and took control of the city.