Syrian authorities have shut down Aleppo airport and cancelled all flights following a insurgent incursion into town, army sources knowledgeable Reuters on Saturday. The offensive, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, marks the primary time opposition fighters have reached Aleppo’s centre since their defeat almost a decade in the past.
The rebels launched their shock assault on Wednesday, sweeping via government-held cities and advancing into Aleppo by late Friday, based on an operations room coordinating the offensive.
Mustafa Abdul Jaber, a commander with the Jaish al-Izza brigade, credited their fast progress to an absence of Iran-backed forces within the area, which have been weakened by Israeli strikes amid the broader Center East tensions triggered by the Gaza battle.
Turkey is reported to have given tacit approval for the offensive, based on opposition sources linked to Turkish intelligence. Nonetheless, Turkish overseas ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said that Ankara prioritises regional stability and cautioned that latest assaults threaten current de-escalation agreements.
Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has pledged extra army help to Damascus to counter the offensive. “New army {hardware} will arrive inside 72 hours,” two army sources advised Reuters. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov condemned the assault, describing it as a violation of Syria’s sovereignty and calling for a swift restoration of constitutional order.
The newest violence represents essentially the most important escalation since March 2020, when Russia and Turkey brokered a deal to cut back hostilities. Syrian state tv denied studies of rebels getting into Aleppo, claiming that Russian airstrikes had supported authorities forces in inflicting heavy losses on the insurgents in Aleppo and Idlib’s countryside.
Civilians endure amid intensified preventing
The United Nations expressed grave concern over the humanitarian toll of the renewed battle. David Carden, the UN Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Disaster, stated, “Relentless assaults over the previous three days have claimed the lives of at the least 27 civilians, together with youngsters as younger as eight years outdated.”
State media company SANA reported that 4 civilians, together with two college students, had been killed in Aleppo by insurgent shelling focusing on college dormitories. It stays unclear whether or not they’re among the many casualties cited by the UN.
Because the preventing intensifies, issues develop over its potential to additional destabilise the area, which has already endured years of warfare and displacement.
(with inputs from Reuters)
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