Syrian opposition forces have taken control of much of the country’s second-largest city,Aleppo,according to video verified by the CNN and by the residents of the city.
A rebel alliance launched a surprise attack this week, sweeping east through villages and reigniting a conflict that has been largely unrelenting for years.
This is the first time that Syrian rebels have repressed Aleppo since Bashar Al-Assad’s government forces regained control during the civil war in 2016.
This Saturday morning (30), the rebels took control of large areas of the city, according to images geolocated by CNN.
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Aleppo airport was closed after the rebels reached the city, sources say
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Video: Rebels drive tanks and military vehicles into northwest Syria
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Russia wants Syria to quickly restore order after rebel attacks
Rebel fighters were seen in key locations, with one video showing armed men waving an opposition flag and shouting “God is great” in Arabic in a central square.
Another clip shows rebels in central Aleppo. At least one man in the clip is armed, as he says: “We’re the first to arrive and the first to get out.”
The advancing rebels from the Syrian Army appear to be facing little resistance, with some Aleppo residents telling the CNN that there was least fighting in the urban areas of the city.
In response to the rebel advances, the Russian air force on Friday launched an air offensive against Syrian rebel forces in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, Russian state media reported.
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Kurdish forces have also expanded their control over some Aleppo neighborhoods, residents said. Before this week’s attack, they held two Kurdish neighborhoods, but have now moved into areas the Syrian regime used to control.
The Kurdish militia, known as the YPG, has a history of conflict with other rebel groups in northern Syria.
Rebels revealed their objectives
The rebels are part of a newly formed coalition known as the “Military Operations command,” which includes a broad spectrum of opposition fighters, including Islamist factions and moderate groups previously supported by the US.
The coalition was announced on Wednesday before the attack on Aleppo.
Said the Lt. Col.Hassan abdelghani, head of the coalition government, said his goal was to “liberate our occupied territories” from what he called a “criminal regime” and also Iranian militias.
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The offensive, which began on Wednesday, is the first major conflict in recent years between the Syrian opposition and the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, who has ruled the war-torn country since 2000.
The Syrian civil war began during the Arab Spring of 2011, when the regime suppressed a pro-democracy uprising against Assad.
The country descended into a full-scale civil war when a rebel force, known as the Free Syrian Army, was formed to fight government troops.
The conflict escalated as other regional actors and global powers – from Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United States to Russia – stepped in, escalating the civil war into what some observers have described as a “war proxy”.
Since the 2020 ceasefire agreement, the conflict has remained largely dormant, with low-intensity clashes between the rebels and the Assad regime.
More than 300,000 civilians have been killed in more than a decade of war, according to the United Nations, and millions have been displaced in the region.
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