A coalition of Syrian rebels opposed to the regime of Bashar al-Assad and led by jihadist militias has managed in recent hours to surround Aleppo and position itself at the gates of the city, after launching a major offensive yesterday in which they have captured more than thirty towns, in what is already the largest military action by forces opposed to Assad in recent years.
According to international media reports, the offensive launched yesterday by Syrian rebels from their stronghold in the province of Idlib is led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an organisation of jihadist and Salafist ideology that emerged in 2017, declared a terrorist group by the US and which rivals with the Syrian rebel groups supported by Turkey, which control large regions of northwestern Syria close to the Turkish border.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported from sources on the ground that at least 49 members of forces loyal to Assad were reportedly killed since the launch of the operation, in addition to 65 HTS fighters and 18 others from allied factions, while dozens of Syrian soldiers, heavy weapons and military vehicles – including tanks – were captured by the rebels.
Aleppo cut off from the rest of Syria
In the last few hours, anti-regime forces have made a spectacular advance, seizing dozens of towns on the outskirts of Aleppo including Mansoura and Khan Assal, both only 10km from the city centre: the rebels have encircled Aleppo from the west and cut off the M5 highway, which connects Aleppo to the rest of Syria’s major cities (Hama, Homs) including the capital, Damascus. Another offensive launched in southern Idlib managed to encircle the town of Saraqib, also key to control the M5.
This is in fact the first major advance by forces opposed to the Syrian regime in the region since March 2020, when Russia and Turkey – which does not support HTS – agreed a ceasefire that prevented a Syrian regime offensive in Idlib that would have caused a humanitarian catastrophe in the region and the exodus of millions of Syrian refugees to Turkey and Europe.
Sources close to the Syrian jihadist rebels say the offensive launched against Assad regime forces and over Aleppo is in response to the increasing attacks in recent weeks by Russian and Syrian aircraft on civilian targets in southern Idlib, which forced thousands of Syrian refugees to flee the area for safer areas near the Turkish border.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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