Civil war flares up again in Syria – rebels reach Aleppo

In northwestern Syria, jihadists have entered the city of Aleppo in the heaviest fighting in years, according to activists and eyewitnesses. The Hajat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and its allies “control five districts of Aleppo city,” the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, said on Friday. Residents reported armed fighters in the streets. The Syrian government, however, said the army had repelled the “major offensive”.

The jihadists and their Turkish-backed allies advanced “without significant resistance” from the Syrian army, Rahman said. Accordingly, the fighters reached the gates of the city “after carrying out two suicide attacks with car bombs.”

The Syrian government, however, announced that the army had repelled the “major offensive by armed terrorist groups” on Aleppo and recaptured several positions. The army sent reinforcements to Syria’s second largest city, in the area around which, according to government sources, there had already been “fierce fighting and clashes”. According to Syrian media, Aleppo was also bombed for the first time in four years. Four civilians were therefore killed.

“For the first time in almost five years, we constantly hear rockets and artillery shells, sometimes airplanes,” a 51-year-old Aleppo resident said by telephone. People are afraid “that the war scenario will repeat itself and we will be forced to flee our homeland.” Two residents reported fighting on the street and panic.

The Syrian Observatory said the jihadists had already taken control of “more than 50 villages and towns” in the Aleppo and Idlib regions in the north and northwest of the country within the past few days.

In northwest Syria, the largely government-controlled province of Aleppo borders the last major rebel and jihadist stronghold of Idlib. The jihadist group HTS is a Syrian branch of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network and controls large parts of Idlib, but also neighboring areas in the Aleppo, Hama and Latakia regions.

On Wednesday, the jihadists and their allies launched a surprising major offensive against the government forces – these are the fiercest fighting since 2020. According to the Observatory, 255 people had been killed by Friday, a majority of them fighters on both sides civilians too.

The UK-based Observatory draws its information from a network of different sources in Syria. Your information can hardly be verified by an independent party.

The Syrian civil war began in 2011 after President Bashar al-Assad used violence to suppress anti-government protests. Half a million people were killed and millions more displaced.

With the support of its allies Russia and Iran, the Syrian government regained control of large parts of the country in 2015. Assad also recaptured the large city of Aleppo in 2016 with the support of the Russian Air Force and massive bombing attacks.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov condemned the jihadists’ offensive as an “attack on Syria’s sovereignty.” He also offered Russia’s support to the Syrian government. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also emphasized “Iran’s continued support for the Syrian government, nation and army in the fight against terrorism” during a telephone conversation with his Syrian counterpart Bassam al-Sabbagh.

A ceasefire brokered by Turkey and Russia has been in effect in northern Syria since 2020. Although it has been repeatedly broken, it has largely calmed the region in recent years. According to the Syrian Observatory, the Syrian and Russian air forces jointly carried out “23 airstrikes” on Friday on the Idlib region, which is considered a jihadist stronghold.

Turkey called for an end to these attacks. The Foreign Ministry said in the online service X that these had led to an “undesirable escalation of tensions” in the border region.