Syrian rebel forces say they have entered the country’s second-largest city, Aleppo, in the biggest attack on the government in years.
A video posted by a channel linked to the Islamic terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) appears to show fighters in cars inside the city. BBC Verify shared the images in the western part of the city.
It is the first time that rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s forces have arrived in Aleppo since they were driven out by the army in 2016.
Meanwhile, government forces said they have regained positions in many cities in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, following the attack launched by HTS and allied groups on Wednesday.
More than half a million people have been killed in the civil war that erupted after the government took part in pro-democracy protests in 2011.
Idlib is the last remaining stronghold of the opposition and is home to more than 4 million people, most of whom were displaced during the conflict.
On Friday, a statement posted on a rebel-held channel on Friday said: “Our forces have begun to enter the city of Aleppo.”
The government says reinforcements have now arrived in the city and are pushing back the rebels.
The UK-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which uses a network of sources on the ground in Syria, reported that Syrian and Russian aircraft carried out 23 strikes in the Aleppo region on Friday.
SOHR said 255 people have been killed in the fighting, the highest number of deaths between rebels and pro-government forces in Syria in years.
It says opposition forces have taken control of more than 50 towns and villages since Wednesday.
Idlib is largely controlled by HTS, but Turkish-backed rebel groups and Turkish forces are also based there.
The fighting had largely subsided in 2020, when Turkey and Russia, a key Syrian ally, struck a deal to halt the government’s push to retake Idlib.
That led to a lull in violence, but sporadic clashes, airstrikes and bombings continued.
The latest war comes as Syria’s allies, Iran and Hezbollah, have been emboldened by Israeli attacks in the region.
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