BEIRUT, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Syrian rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad said on Friday they had reached the heart of the northern city of Aleppo, after a surprise sweep through government-held towns and nearly a decade after having been forced out of the city.

The opposition fighters, led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, launched an incursion on Wednesday into a dozen towns and villages in the northern province of Aleppo, which was controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, backed by both Iran and Russia.

They made quick progress and by late Friday, an operations room representing the offensive said rebels were sweeping through various neighbourhoods of the city.
Assad and his allies Russia, Iran and regional Shi'ite militias had retaken all of Aleppo city in late 2016, with insurgents agreeing to withdraw after months of bombardment and siege in a battle that turned the tide against the opposition.

Rebel commander in the Jaish al-Izza rebel brigade Mustafa Abdul Jaber said the speedy advance was due to insufficient Iran-backed manpower in the broader province. Iran's allies in the region have suffered a series of blows at the hands of Israel as the Gaza war expanded to the Middle East.
Opposition sources in touch with Turkish intelligence say Turkey had given a green light to the offensive.

But Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said Turkey sought to avoid greater instability in the region and had warned that recent attacks undermined de-escalation agreements.
The attack was the biggest since March 2020, when Russia and Turkey agreed to a deal to de-escalate the conflict.

CIVILIANS KILLED IN FIGHTING
Syrian state television denied rebels had reached the city and said Russia was providing Syria's military with air support.

The Syrian military said it continued to confront the attack, saying in a statement it had inflicted heavy losses on the insurgents in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib.

David Carden, U.N. Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, said: "We’re deeply alarmed by the situation unfolding in northwest Syria."
"Relentless attacks over the past three days have claimed the lives of at least 27 civilians, including children as young as eight years old," he told Reuters.
"Civilians and civilian infrastructure are not targets and must be protected under International Humanitarian Law."

Syrian state news agency SANA said four civilians including two students were killed on Friday in Aleppo by insurgent shelling of university student dormitories.
It was not clear if they were among the 27 dead reported by the U.N. official.
Russian and Syrian warplanes bombed the area near the border with Turkey on Thursday to try to push back an insurgent offensive that has captured territory for the first time in years, Syrian army and rebel sources said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow regarded the rebel attack as a violation of Syria's sovereignty and wanted the authorities to act fast to regain control.
"As for the situation around Aleppo, it is an attack on Syrian sovereignty and we are in favour of the Syrian authorities bringing order to the area and restoring constitutional order as soon as possible," said Peskov.

Asked about unconfirmed Russian Telegram reports that Assad had flown into Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Peskov said he had "nothing to say" on the matter.

Botragelad:
Full politics in play here. These guys have been having a field day, capturing villages for about two days now, with little to no resistance from Russian, Iranian, and Syrian forces.

The moment these guys (groups in Syria) sense some weakness, they pounce and devour you. Russia showed several sign of weakness, one was importing North Korean soldiers to fight on their behalf. Iran on the other hand has been severely weakened by Israel and has struggled to revive Hezbollah following the recent ceasefire agreement. As a result, these groups in Syria are taking advantage of the situation.

Now, hezbollah used to help the Assad regime, but they are more or less useless now since they made a grave mistake signing a ceasefire that only extend their survival span, they can't carry out any attack because Israel continues to conduct strikes against them despite the cease-fire deal, yes it's part of the deal. The moment Israel notices any activities, the IAF swoops in to repel it, so these guys are stuck, no proper ammo, leaders gone, fighters depleted, out of the litani river area.

These are possibly Turkish backed Syrian opposition group in Syria, and they are currently in full force. They killed some IRGC generals in their attack too. Syria is a mess as we speak, Al Qaeda, ISIS, Kurdish forces, Assad forces, FSA, HTS, Jund Al aqsa, etc. All fighting for control of whatever they could grab their hands on. Russia is currently struggling with Ukraine, so at this point things are a bit hard.

Iran is struggling to get hezbollah on it's feet, but things aren't working out. Israel played a big role depleting Iran's proxy power!
Online Shiites and Sunni are currently confused on who to support. Lol
Let's see how this pans out.

agulion:
Islamic terrorist will always be present anywhere you hear Allah alkubar, very dangerous thing

Botragelad:
There's a video, some might call it gruesome. Russia's just smashed some of these guys with a heavy airstrike, totally annihilated them. 😂

Russia ain't having it. They won't let these lots ruin all their hard work in Syria. And, you know how ruthless Russia gets with terrorists attacking them. This is pure Carnage!

owobokiri:
Ofcourse, you know those supplying them with all the GPS mappings and logistical supplies for this renewed bloodbath! It is the same people that call themselves the "Gods own country". Creating Islamic terrorist groups and using them as launch pads to infiltrate different societies, have become the hallmarks of western foreign policy pursuits. When those groups later start to "misbehave" and attack Western targets, it becomes another opportunity for more bombings. We need a new world order.

owobokiri:
Ofcourse, you know those supplying them with all the GPS mappings and logistical supplies for this renewed bloodbath! It is the same people that call themselves the "Gods own country". Creating Islamic terrorist groups and using them as launch pads to infiltrate different societies, have become the hallmarks of western foreign policy pursuits. When those groups later start to "misbehave" and attack Western targets, it becomes another opportunity for more bombings. We need a new world order.

Ofodirinwa:
there are nigerians trying to go to Aleppo right now as we speak

owobokiri:
Ofcourse, you know those supplying them with all the GPS mappings and logistical supplies for this renewed bloodbath! It is the same people that call themselves the "Gods own country". Creating Islamic terrorist groups and using them as launch pads to infiltrate different societies, have become the hallmarks of western foreign policy pursuits. When those groups later start to "misbehave" and attack Western targets, it becomes another opportunity for more bombings. We need a new world order.

Islam must blame the Jews for all of its problems?!.

Free2Fly:


Talking rubbish and laying blames as usual

Read this excerpt from the main article:
Opposition sources in touch with Turkish intelligence say Turkey had given a green light to the offensive.

Why putting the blames on the US instead of Turkey that was mentioned in the article and which controls this particular islamic group involved
You guys will never take responsibility for all the chaos and terrorism you're causing around the world.

Frankiss44:


Funny how you carefully left Turkey out of the equation despite being one of the biggest players in Syria

Free2Fly:


Talking rubbish and laying blames as usual

Read this excerpt from the main article:
Opposition sources in touch with Turkish intelligence say Turkey had given a green light to the offensive.

Why putting the blames on the US instead of Turkey that was mentioned in the article and which controls this particular islamic group involved
You guys will never take responsibility for all the chaos and terrorism you're causing around the world.

Frankiss44:


Funny how you carefully left Turkey out of the equation despite being one of the biggest players in Syria

owobokiri:




Turkey as a NATO member can NEVER take anti NATO initiatives in Syria. And who heads NATO?

Free2Fly:

That's their usual way
The level of hypocr!sy the islamists/the muslim world exhibit is out of this world.

That same Turkey he avoided mentioning can pursue Kurdists fighters far into Iraq and bombs the entire neighborhood, but once Israel retaliates against Hamas or Hezbollah missiles/terrorism, the same Turkey will quickly condemn her

owobokiri:




Turkey as a NATO member can NEVER take anti NATO initiatives in Syria. And who heads NATO?

idanone:
This Muslim brothers of ours need deliverance