Syrian Rebel Groups Enter Aleppo Eight Years After Government Forces Recaptured City

Syrian opposition forces have entered Aleppo just three days into their unexpected offensive, marking the first time they have entered the country’s second-largest city since it was recaptured by government forces in 2016.

A surprise assault

The rebels launched a surprise assault this week, advancing eastward through several villages surrounding Aleppo, reigniting a conflict that had been largely dormant for years.

By Friday evening, opposition forces had reached the city center, with videos showing fighters in camouflage waving the flag of the Syrian opposition in a central square.

This offensive, which began on Wednesday, is the first significant flare-up in years between the Syrian opposition and President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which has ruled the war-torn country since 2000.

The official Syrian military announced it was confronting a “major attack” and claimed to be reinforcing all positions along various battlefronts. However, several residents reported that regime forces had pulled back from multiple neighborhoods in western Aleppo.

Opposition coalition announces Aleppo takeover

The newly formed opposition coalition, the Military Operations Command, announced that it had seized control of the Syrian government’s Military Scientific Research Center on Aleppo’s outskirts after intense clashes with regime forces and Iranian militias. The group later shared a video showing Syrian regime tanks leaving the city as rebel forces advanced.

Throughout Saturday, opposition forces continued to make gains in the city. In a video, fighters were seen by a statue of Bassel al-Assad, the late brother of President Assad, on the eastern edge of Aleppo’s New Aleppo district. One fighter was filmed lowering a Syrian flag from its mast.

The situation in Aleppo remained fluid as armed opposition forces appeared to continue their swift advance.

Artillery shell strikes student housing at Aleppo University

Pro-government social media channels have disputed the extent of the opposition’s advance. Two videos posted on pro-regime Telegram channels purportedly show empty squares in northwest Aleppo, claiming that no rebels are present in that part of the city.

Earlier in the day, an artillery shell struck the student housing at Aleppo University, killing four people, according to Syria’s state news agency, SANA, which blamed opposition factions for the attack. The spokesperson for the rebel groups, Hassan Abdulghani, denied the accusations, calling them “baseless lies.”

On Thursday, airstrikes and shelling on rebel-held areas in Aleppo and Idlib left at least 15 civilians dead, including six children and two women, with 36 others wounded, according to the White Helmets, a volunteer rescue group. Iranian state media also reported the death of Brigadier General Kioumars Pourhashemi of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in the city.

United States, Israel reactivating the rebels?

In a call with his Syrian counterpart, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States and Israel of “reactivating” the rebels, while reiterating Iran’s continued support for the Syrian government and military.

Syria’s civil war began in 2011 as the regime cracked down on a pro-democracy uprising. This led to the formation of a rebel force, the Free Syrian Army, which fought against government troops. The conflict escalated as regional and global powers, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United States, and Russia, intervened, turning the war into a “proxy war.” ISIS also gained a foothold before being severely weakened.

Since the 2020 ceasefire agreement, the conflict had remained mostly dormant, with only low-level clashes between the rebels and Assad’s regime.

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