Four civilians, including two students, were killed today in the Syrian city of Aleppo following insurgent shelling of university student dormitories, according to the state news agency SANA, as reported by Reuters.
Aleppo University Dorms Attack carried out by rebels led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham
The assault was carried out by rebels led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, who launched an incursion on Wednesday into a dozen towns and villages in the northwestern Aleppo province, an area controlled by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s government forces.
In retaliation, on Thursday, Russian and Syrian warplanes carried out bombing raids on rebel-held territories in northwest Syria, near the border with Turkey, in an effort to repel the insurgent offensive that had succeeded in capturing territory for the first time in years, according to sources from both the Syrian army and the rebels.
Aleppo University attack marks largest military escalation since March 2020
This attack marked the largest military escalation since March 2020, when Russia, which backs Assad, and Turkey, a supporter of the rebels, agreed to a ceasefire aimed at ending years of conflict that had displaced millions of Syrians opposed to Assad’s regime.
In related news, Syrian opposition forces have successfully seized control of numerous towns and villages in northwestern Syria after launching a renewed offensive in Aleppo province on Wednesday. This marks the first major hostilities in four years between rebel forces and Assad’s regime troops.
Operation Deterring Aggression
The operation, named ‘Deterring Aggression,’ saw Syrian rebel forces take control of dozens of strategic towns and villages just a few kilometers from the city of Aleppo. The offensive’s stated objective is to create areas in Syria where displaced people can return “in dignity and security.”
The rebel fighters are primarily from the Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) group and its Fath Al-Mubeen operations room, which includes several other rebel factions. Reports indicate that the operation had been in preparation for over a year, aimed at catching Assad’s regime forces and their allied militias off guard.
The renewed hostilities were further fueled by recent provocations from the regime forces. Mustafa Bakkour, spokesperson for the Jaysh Al-Izzah rebel group, told The New Arab that the operation was a direct response to the Syrian regime’s attacks on civilian areas and other sites in northwestern Syria over the past few weeks.
