Syria bombings: Aleppo hit by airstrikes amid rebel offensive
At dawn on Saturday, fighter jets from Syria and Russia—an ally of Damascus—bombed various neighborhoods in Aleppo, in northern Syria, after armed opposition factions supported by Turkey took control of a significant part of the city following four days of fighting, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based NGO, as reported by EFE.
The SOHR noted that these are the first bombings in Aleppo since 2016, when forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad took control of Syria's second-largest city with Russian support and cover, along with the help of Iran-affiliated militias.
The NGO reported that the airstrikes targeted the Al Furqan neighborhood in western Aleppo, which serves as a major entry point for many fighters from the Islamist alliance, the Levant Liberation Organization, and other armed factions supported by Ankara.
The SOHR, based in the United Kingdom and supported by an extensive network of on-the-ground collaborators, reported that the insurgents "took control of the largest part of the city," as well as government institutions and even prisons, on the fourth day of their offensive to capture Aleppo.
Moreover, the rebel Military Operations Administration announced on its Telegram channel that there had been "a major collapse within the ranks" of the Syrian army, whose troops "retreated from several strategic points" in Aleppo province and the neighboring Idlib province, the main stronghold of the opposition in Syria.
The province's governor and Syrian forces "withdrew from the city center" and fled to the Al Safira area, east of Aleppo, according to the SOHR, which estimated that at least 311 people have died since the insurgent offensive began at dawn on November 27.
Among the casualties were 183 Islamist fighters and pro-Turkish factions; 100 soldiers from the Syrian army and pro-Iranian militias allied with Damascus; and 28 civilians, most of whom died in Aleppo and Idlib as a result of Russian airstrikes, according to the NGO.
These events occur as Turkey seeks to restore relations with Damascus, though al-Assad insists that Ankara must withdraw its troops from northern Syria and stop supporting opposition groups for relations to be re-established, which were severed at the start of the Syrian civil war 13 years ago.
The rebel offensive also began on the same day a ceasefire came into effect in Lebanon, following Israel's heavy strikes on the pro-Iranian Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, both in Lebanon and Syria, where Hezbollah maintains a significant presence and is one of Damascus's main allies.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
