Syrian Rebels reach Aleppo Citadel, impose curfew after assault

A coalition of Syrian rebels have reached deep into Syria’s second city of Aleppo on Friday, including the city’s ancient citadel according to reports, pressing a lightning offensive against Regime forces backed by both Iran and Russia.

The fighting is some of the deadliest since the last major round of fighting in 2020, with 277 people killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The toll includes 28 civilians, most killed by Russian air strikes.

The offensive began on Wednesday, the same day that a fragile ceasefire took effect in neighbouring Lebanon between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

By Friday the Rebels, led by hardline Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), had taken more than 50 towns and villages in the north, according to the Britain-based Observatory, in the regime’s biggest loss of territory in years.

They then entered western districts of Aleppo, a city of some two million people that was Syria’s pre-war manufacturing hub.

The fighters “advanced without any significant pushback from regime forces”, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said, adding that they had taken control of five neighbourhoods.

An AFP correspondent saw clashes in the New Aleppo district.

State media reported that four civilians were killed when a student residence in Aleppo was shelled by HTS.

Army reinforcements have arrived in Aleppo, a Syrian security official told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

An army statement said troops had repelled the assault on the city and retaken some positions.

Footage and pictures shared online however reportedly shows the rebels moving further into the heart of the city. This includes the city’s ancient citadel, which The New Arab’s affiliate Syria TV also reported citing military sources. The publication also reported that the coalition has imposed a curfew on the city as part of efforts to “secure” it.

Other footage showed rebels release detainees held in a regime prison. The New Arab is unable to verify the footage.

The rebels made other advances in the north, including the strategically located town of Saraqib, which is on the road to Aleppo, the Observatory said.

Meanwhile, Syrian authorities closed Aleppo airport and canceled all flights, a military source told Reuters.

Two Syrian military sources also told Reuters that the regime was promised extra Russian military aid to help the army thwart the offensive and that the new hardware is expected to arrive at the Hmeimim airbase near the costal city of Latakia in the next 72 hours.

Russian air strikes

Syrian and Russian warplanes launched intense air strikes on the rebel enclave around Idlib, carrying out 23 raids, according to the Observatory.

The Russian military said it was bombing “extremist” forces.

“The Russian air force is carrying out rocket-bomb attacks on… control points, warehouses and artillery positions of terrorists,” a defence ministry spokesperson told Russian news agencies.

Turkey demanded a halt to the bombardment. “The recent clashes have resulted in an undesirable escalation of tensions in the region,” a foreign ministry statement said.

The Idlib area has been subject to a Turkish- and Russian-brokered truce since 2020. The ceasefire has been repeatedly violated but had largely held.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said “more than 14,000 people – nearly half are children – have been displaced” by the violence.

Aleppo resident Sarmad, 51, told AFP he could hear “the sounds of missiles and artillery shelling around the clock”.

“We’re scared that war will break out and we’ll be displaced from our homes again,” he said.

Nasser Hamdo, 36, who works in a pastry shop, said he had been glued to the news since hostilities began.

On Thursday, the rebel coalition cut the M5 highway linking Aleppo to the capital Damascus, some 300 kilometres (185 miles) south, the Observatory said.

“We’re worried that roads getting blocked could cause fuel prices to soar and prevent goods from reaching the city,” Hamdo said.

International players

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday described events in Aleppo as “an infringement on the sovereignty of Syria.”

He expressed support for “the government of Syria to quickly restore order in this district”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi pledged “continued support for the government, nation and army of Syria,” in a phone call with his Syrian counterpart Bassam al-Sabbagh, according to a statement.

AFP images showed abandoned army tanks and other military vehicles.

An AFP correspondent in the area said the rebels were taking orders from a joint operations command. 

Analyst Nick Heras, of the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, said the fighters were “trying to preempt the possibility of a Syrian military campaign in the region of Aleppo”.  

The name given to the offensive by the rebel coalition is ‘Deterring Aggression’.

According to Heras, the Syrian regime and its ally Russia had been preparing for such an offensive.

‘Totally unprepared’

Other interests are also at stake.

As well as Russia, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been propped up by Iran and allied militant groups, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Iran-backed militias have a heavy presence in the Aleppo region after providing crucial ground support when the army, backed by Russian airpower, recaptured rebel-held areas of the city in 2016.

Heras said anti-regime forces are “in a better position to take and seize villages than Russian-backed Syrian government forces, while the Iranians are focused on Lebanon”.

Abdel Rahman said regime forces “were totally unprepared” for the attack.

“It is strange to see regime forces being dealt such big blows despite Russian air cover and early signs that HTS was going to launch this operation,” Abdel Rahman said.

“Were they depending on Hezbollah, which is now busy in Lebanon?”

Syria’s civil war has been ongoing since pro-democracy anti-regime protests were held in 2011, resulting in a brutal crackdown. Some 500,000 people since it began, many as a result of regime and Russian airstrikes against opposition-held territory.