Rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad already control most of the second-largest city of Aleppo. At the same time, on the night of Saturday, for the first time since 2016, Russia launched airstrikes on parts of this city to help the government, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported. TASR refers to AFP and the BBC.
The jihadist Sunni rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS – Organization for the Liberation of the Levant) and allied factions backed by Turkey have taken control of most of the city, government buildings and prisons, according to SOHR.
It is the largest offensive against the Russian and Iranian-backed Syrian government in recent years and the first time rebels fighting the president’s forces have entered Aleppo since the army pushed them out in 2016. They closed the airport there and all the roads leading to the city.
SOHR reported on Friday that the jihadists managed to capture the strategic city of Saraqib from the Syrian government forces. Both sides fought for control of this city in northwestern Syria.
The Russian military announced on Friday that its air force had bombed anti-government forces in Syria to repel “extremists” who have launched a large-scale offensive on Aleppo. It is Moscow that is Assad’s most important military supporter, and after its intervention in the Syrian civil war in 2015, the development of the fighting turned in his favor.
The current fighting around Syria’s second largest city started already on Wednesday. In total, more than 310 people were killed, including civilians.
