Syrian rebels led by the Islamist military opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham are fighting with government forces of President Bashar al-Assad in the very center of Syria's second largest city, Aleppo.
This is reported by Reuters with reference to sources.
The city closed the airport and blocked the roads to Aleppo itself. Government troops were ordered to "safely withdraw" from the main areas of the city, where the rebels entered.
Opposition rebels took control of more than 70 settlements in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib before entering the city. This happened over several days - from Wednesday (November 27) to late Friday night (November 29) - and ten years after they were ousted by the forces of the regime of Bashar al-Assad and his allies.
Russia, one of Assad’s main allies, has promised Damascus more military aid to thwart the rebels. The new weapons will arrive within the next 72 hours.
Opposition sources with ties to Turkish intelligence told Reuters in an anonymous comment that Türkiye, which backs the rebels, has given the green light for the offensive. Officially, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Öncü Keçeli said his country wanted to avoid further instability in the region.
Active clashes between the rebels and Syrian troops began on November 27. The offensive was launched by the Syrian Revolutionary Forces in “response to months of continuous attacks on civilians” by the Assad regime in Aleppo province. It was the most intense fighting in northwest Syria since 2020, when government forces captured areas previously controlled by opposition fighters. It is also the largest offensive by opposition fighters on the city since they were pushed out of the eastern districts in 2016.
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