Syrian armed rebels claim they have entered Aleppo, the country's second-largest city. Government forces recaptured the city in 2016, CNN reported on Friday. But suddenly after 8 years armed men again entered this city.
It is known that several areas of Aleppo were captured by the rebel groups in a sudden attack. “Our forces have begun to enter the city of Aleppo,” said a statement from the rebels' new coalition Military Operations Command.
The insurgents' claim could not be independently verified, but government forces termed the attack as a 'major attack by terrorist organisations'.
Rebels claim they have already seized a government military research center in Aleppo and clashed with Iran-backed militias there.
CNN reported that at least 15 civilians were killed in airstrikes and shelling in areas of Aleppo and Idlib claimed by the rebels last Thursday. Among them were six children and two women. Another 36 people were injured.
According to Iranian media, Brigadier General Qumars Porhashemi of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps was killed in this clash.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi blamed the US and Israel for the reactivation of rebels in Syria. He pledged continued Iranian support to the Syrian government and army.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov also called on the Syrian government to quickly restore control. Iran and Russia are key allies of Syria.
It should be noted that during the Arab Spring in 2011, civil war started in the country after pro-democracy protests against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. At that time, the country's rebel forces formed the Free Syrian Army.
Various countries and regional powers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United States, and Russia, are involved in this conflict through a shadow war centered around the Syrian civil war. ISIS militants dominated Syria at one stage of the civil war, but were later driven out.
The conflict in Syria came to a standstill in 2020 following a ceasefire agreement. In some cases, however, clashes between rebels and government forces continued on a low scale.
According to the United Nations, more than 300,000 civilians have been killed in Syria's more than a decade-long civil war. Millions of people have lost their homes and been displaced.
