Syrian rebels reportedly reach Aleppo

Civil war in Syria

Surprising offensive: Rebels take Assad troops by surprise

Heavy fighting in northwest Syria: A rebel alliance is attacking the city of Aleppo. A defeat there would be a serious blow for ruler Assad.

According to activists, Syrian rebels have reached the northwestern city of Aleppo. “The insurgents have entered the city of Aleppo for the first time since 2016,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The rebel offensive represents a dramatic development in the civil war that has been ongoing since 2011 – in which the fronts had changed little recently.

An alliance of Islamist rebel groups said its fighters were fighting with government troops in the western suburbs of the city. The Syrian Defense Ministry said government forces were facing massive attacks in the surrounding areas of the cities of Aleppo and Idlib. Activists report that large parts of the city are under rebel control.

According to military sources, the Syrian authorities have closed the airport in the city of Aleppo in the northwest of the country and canceled all flights. Additional military aid is also expected from Russia to avert the takeover of Aleppo province by President Bashar al-Assad’s enemies, two military officials told Reuters. Damascus expects Russian military equipment to arrive at the Hmeimim military base near the Syrian coastal city of Latakia in the next 72 hours.

Eyewitnesses in Aleppo reported rebels being seen with their vehicles in the western part of Aleppo. They tore up pictures of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. A video on X shows rebels removing a Syrian flag in eastern Aleppo.

The group Hajat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which has gathered a number of allies around itself, is probably behind the offensive. They are supported by Turkey.

Rebel circles said that fighters had advanced into Aleppo from the south and west and had so far taken control of over 50 towns in the area. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, this included the town of Sarakeb, which is crucial for controlling the route between the capital Damascus and Aleppo.

According to human rights activists, at least 255 people have been killed since Wednesday. There are at least 24 civilians among them. The alliance of Islamist rebels calls its new offensive “deterring aggression.”

The Syrian army has since attacked dozens of targets in Idlib and the Aleppo area with the support of Russian fighter jets. Observers believe that the offensive had been planned by the rebels for months. The situation had already gotten worse in the previous weeks.

Aleppo was heavily contested and devastated in the early years of the Syrian civil war. At that time, the Syrian military and its allies, including Russia, forcibly expelled the rebels from the eastern part of the city. The battle for Aleppo was considered one of the worst in the civil war in Syria that has been ongoing since 2011. Idlib has been in the hands of the insurgents for years.

Since the latest outbreak of fighting, around 14,000 people have been displaced around Idlib and west of Aleppo, according to the United Nations.

According to eyewitnesses, many residents fled the affected areas for fear of an escalation. “People are afraid. I’m packing my things and my family and heading towards Damascus,” said a resident in western Aleppo.

The situation is deteriorating, especially for the civilian population, emphasized the deputy regional UN coordinator for humanitarian aid in Syria, David Carden. “We are receiving reports of children with multiple injuries from shrapnel,” he said.

The civil war in Syria has completely divided the country. President Bashar Al-Assad came under heavy pressure at times, but with the help of his allies Russia and Iran he now controls two-thirds of the country again. The northwest is partly under the control of opposition forces. There is no political solution to the conflict in sight. As a result of the civil war, millions of Syrians have fled abroad – many also to Europe.