Syrian troops withdraw from Aleppo as rebels advance | Global News Avenue

Syrian government forces have withdrawn from the city of Aleppo following an offensive by rebels opposing President Bashar Assad’s rule.

The army acknowledged rebels had entered “large parts” of the country’s second-largest city but vowed to launch a counterattack.

The offensive marks the most significant fighting in Syria’s civil war in recent years.

More than 300 people have been killed since it began on Wednesday, including at least 20 civilians, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

President Assad gave a speech on Saturday, vowing to “defend (Syria’s) stability and territorial integrity in the face of all terrorists and their supporters.”

“(The nation) has the ability, with the help of allies and friends, to defeat and neutralize them, no matter how violent their terrorist attacks,” his office quoted him as saying.

Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi will visit Damascus on Sunday to discuss the offensive.

Civil war began in 2011 after Assad’s government brutally cracked down on pro-democracy protests, killing about 500,000 people.

The conflict has been largely dormant since a ceasefire was agreed in 2020, but rebel forces still control much of the northwestern city of Idlib and surrounding provinces.

Idlib is just 55 kilometers (34 miles) from Aleppo, itself a rebel stronghold until it fell to government forces in 2016.

The latest offensive is led by an Islamist militant group called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and an allied faction backed by Türkiye.

HTS is considered one of the most effective and lethal groups fighting Assad’s government and is already the dominant force in Idlib.

According to SOHR, rebels have taken control of Aleppo airport and dozens of nearby towns.

They also announced that a nighttime curfew would come into effect at 17:00 local time (14:00 GMT).

“SOHR” also stated that rebel militants have invaded several towns in the countryside near Hama, south of Aleppo, Syria’s fourth largest city, and the Syrian army has withdrawn.

But Syrian state media, citing military sources, dismissed the claim.

The Syrian army said the rebels “launched widespread attacks on the Aleppo and Idlib front lines from multiple directions” and that the fighting took place “over a 100-kilometer (60-mile) stretch.”

Dozens of soldiers were killed, the statement said.

The Russian air force, which played a key role in maintaining Assad’s regime at the height of the civil war, carried out airstrikes in Aleppo on Saturday.

The attack was Russia’s first in the city since it helped Syrian government forces retake the city in 2016.

SOHR said Russia launched nine more attacks on Idlib later on Saturday.

A US spokesman said Syria’s “dependence on Russia and Iran” and its refusal to move forward with the 2015 UN Security Council peace plan had “created the conditions that are now emerging” for the country.

Images showed roads into Aleppo packed with cars on Saturday as people tried to leave and thick smoke rising from the city skyline.