Syrian civil war: Syrian rebels reportedly reach Aleppo

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 areas surrounding the cities of Aleppo and Idlib.

Eyewitnesses in Aleppo reported to the German Press Agency that rebels were seen with their vehicles in the western part of Aleppo. They tore up pictures of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. Other residents reported the sounds of battle and explosions being heard in the city.

Rebels claim to have captured dozens of places

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 Sarakib, 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 UK-based organization sources its information from a network of local informants.

The fighting began on Wednesday. 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 become increasingly dire over the past few weeks.

Moscow probably doesn’t see itself as responsible

Russia condemns the unexpected advance of Islamist rebels on the city of Aleppo as an attack on Syria’s sovereignty. “Of course this is an infringement on Syria’s sovereignty in this region,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in Moscow.

But his words suggested that Moscow did not see itself as responsible for stopping the offensive. “We are in favor of the Syrian authorities bringing order to the region and restoring constitutional order as quickly as possible,” he said, according to the state news agency Tass.

Remembrance of the bitter battle for Aleppo

Aleppo was heavily contested and devastated in the early years of the Syrian civil war. At that time, the rebels were forcibly driven out of the eastern part of the city by the Syrian military and its allies. 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.

Russia intervened in the Syrian civil war in 2015 and used its superior air force to help re-establish President Bashar al-Assad’s wavering power. Russia was particularly involved in the recapture of Aleppo by the Syrian army in 2016, which resulted in many civilian casualties. Because of the war in Ukraine, Moscow reduced its troop presence in the Middle Eastern country from 2022.

Tens of thousands of people had to flee

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,” a resident in western Aleppo told dpa.

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 deeply 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. Areas in the northwest are under the control of opposition forces, some of which are supported by Turkey. 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.