Islamist rebel forces captured most of Syria’s second-largest city, Aleppo, and expanded their offensive to other provinces as the renewed uprising against Bashar al-Assad’s regime entered its fifth day.
Surprised by the rapid advance of the Turkish-backed rebels, the Russian military abandoned several bases in the area, news reports say.
“Opposition fighters raced through Aleppo, Hama and Idlib provinces in a lightning advance that has stunned Bashar al-Assad’s regime,” the British newspaper Daily Telegraph reported Saturday night. “Syria’s rebels seized most of Aleppo on Saturday as their sweeping advance ousted Russian forces from at least three military bases around the city,” the newspaper added.
The Russian military intensified airstrikes on rebel forces in a bid to halt their advance. “Russian and Syrian jets struck the rebel-held city of Idlib in northern Syria on Sunday, military sources said, as President Bashar al-Assad vowed to crush insurgents who had swept into the city of Aleppo,” Reuters reported Sunday. “On Saturday, Russian and Syrian jets bombed other towns in Idlib province, which had fallen completely under rebel control in the boldest rebel assault for years in a civil war where front lines had largely been frozen since 2020.”
The Assad regime dispatched troops to stop the Islamist rebels from making further territorial gains. “The Syrian military on Sunday sent reinforcements to halt the advance of jihadi insurgents in Hama province after the rebels seized most of the city of Aleppo and some nearby towns in a surprise offensive that is posing a massive challenge for Syria’s autocratic leader, Bashar Assad,” Germany’s state-run DW TV reported Sunday.”
The rebel offensive, which began on Wednesday, is being led by the Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a U.S.-designated terrorist group.
The Sky News (UK) reported the ongoing fighting:
Syrian and Russian jets have launched joint air strikes on Syrian rebels who are advancing through the country after seizing its second-largest city.The rebels, led by the Salafi jihadi group, Hayat Tahrir al Sham, took over most of Aleppo in a shock offensive on Saturday. They claim to have also entered the city of Hama.Military air strikes that hit the entrance of Aleppo University Hospital have killed 12 civilians and injured 23 others, the Syrian Civil Defence, known as the White Helmets, has said. (…)On Saturday thousands of insurgents took over most of Aleppo, controlling its airport before expanding their shock offensive to a nearby province.They faced little to no resistance from government troops, according to fighters and activists.
“Syria’s second-largest city Aleppo has fallen from government control,” the French news agency AFP reported Sunday afternoon, citing local Syrian sources. The fall of Aleppo could spell doom for the Assad clan, which has ruled the country for over 40 years. In 2016, the Assad regime gained control of Aleppo with military support of Russia and Iran — consolidating its hold on the country after five years of civil war.
The Iran-backed regime controls two-thirds of Syria, sharing the country under a ceasefire arrangement with Islamist, Kurdish, and other ethnic militia forces.
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