Conflict reignited Heavy fighting in Syria - now Russia is also intervening
The heaviest fighting in years has been reported from Syria in recent days. Russia is now also intervening in the conflict and promising to support the Syrian government.
30.11.2024, 06:16
30.11.2024, 08:42
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- Syrian rebels control a large part of Aleppo.
- According to the report, the insurgents have entered Aleppo for the first time since 2016.
- Russia announced that it would support the Syrian government troops.
According to activists, Syrian rebels now control large parts of the megacity of Aleppo after the heaviest fighting in years. Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told the German Press Agency.
According to the report, the insurgents entered Aleppo for the first time since 2016 - just three days after launching their surprise offensive against the troops of ruler Bashar al-Assad. According to reports, the government is massing its forces in the east of the city for a counterattack.
If Aleppo were to fall permanently to the rebels, it would be a bitter blow for President Assad, who has been able to consolidate his power in recent years with the help of Russian and Iranian support. The rebel offensive is a remarkable development in the civil war that has been going on since 2011, as the frontlines have changed little recently. Russia has announced that it will support the Syrian government troops.
Government troops under pressure
An alliance of insurgents led by the Islamist organization Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) made surprisingly large territorial gains during an offensive in the northwest of the country this week. The government troops and their allies came under pressure in the areas surrounding the cities of Idlib and Aleppo. The alliance of Islamist rebels calls its new offensive "deterrence of aggression".
On Friday, the fighting reached the outskirts of Aleppo. According to eyewitnesses, the sound of fighting and explosions could be heard from afar. Some of the government troops left their positions. According to a dpa reporter on the ground, thousands of people are fleeing to rural areas or other cities. The rebel alliance said it had imposed a curfew in the city until 8 a.m. on Saturday.
The Syrian Ministry of Defense stated that the armed forces were confronted with massive attacks in the surrounding areas of Aleppo and Idlib. The Syrian army attacked dozens of targets in Idlib and around Aleppo with the support of Russian fighter jets. According to the state news agency Tass, a spokesman for the Russian army said that at least 200 rebels had been killed in Russian attacks.
Aleppo was heavily contested in the early years of the Syrian civil war and was extensively destroyed. Shocking images of the devastated city went around the world at the time. In 2016, the insurgents were forcibly driven out of the eastern part of the city by the Syrian military and its allies. The battle for Aleppo is still considered one of the worst in more than 13 years of civil war. Idlib has been in the hands of the insurgents for years.
Russia intervened in 2015 - then came the Ukraine war
According to the Observatory for Human Rights, almost 300 people have been killed since the start of the rebel offensive on Wednesday, including at least two dozen civilians. The UK-based organization obtains its information from a network of informants on the ground and is considered a reliable source for impressions from the country, which has been torn apart by years of violence.
Russia intervened in the Syrian civil war in 2015 and, with its superior air force, helped President Assad to consolidate his shaky hold on power. His government now controls two thirds of the country again. However, Moscow reduced its troop presence in Syria from 2022 due to the war in Ukraine. A political solution to the conflict is not in sight. As a result of the civil war, millions of Syrians have fled abroad - many of them to Germany.
