The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring organization, said that Syrian rebel forces have established control over several areas of the country's second largest city, Aleppo. By Friday (November 29) evening, the rebels had taken control of more than half of the city. The British media reported the news.
A video posted on a channel linked to the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) showed rebel fighters entering the city in vehicles.
“Our forces have started to enter the city of Aleppo,” said a statement posted on a channel linked to the rebels.
The BBC identified the footage as the western suburbs of Aleppo. Video verified by the BBC showed armed men patrolling a street about seven kilometers from the medieval citadel in central Aleppo.
Another video, verified by the BBC, shows a large group moving away from an area near Aleppo University with belongings in hand. 3 km away from this place, the media related to HTS demanded the entry of rebel forces.
The Syrian government said it recaptured several towns in Aleppo and Idlib provinces. Attacks led by the HTS and their allies began on Wednesday in those two provinces.
In addition, they have now deployed additional forces in Aleppo and are pushing back the rebels.
All flights have been canceled and Aleppo airport has been closed, military sources said.
SOHR also reported that Syrian and Russian air forces carried out 23 airstrikes in the Aleppo region on Friday. The agency claimed 255 people were killed in the deadliest clash between rebels and pro-government forces in years.
It is the biggest attack against the Syrian government in years. Rebels entered Aleppo for the first time since being driven out by President Bashar al-Assad's forces in 2016.
More than 500,000 people have been killed in the civil war that began in 2011 after a crackdown on anti-government pro-democracy protests.
At that time, various armed groups opposed to the Assad regime took advantage of the unrest to occupy large areas. Later, with the help of Russia and other allies, the Syrian government recaptured most of the territory.
But on Wednesday the HTS and its allies accused the government and allied forces of escalating tensions in their areas and demanded an operation to counter the attack.
This comes at a time when the Syrian government and its allies are engaged in another conflict. Because Israel has increased airstrikes targeting Iran and Iran-backed groups inside Syria.
