Aleppo, Syria:
Syrian authorities closed Aleppo airport and cancelled all flights on Saturday, three army sources instructed Reuters, as rebels against President Bashar al-Assad stated that they had reached the center of the town.
The opposition fighters, led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, carried out a shock sweep by means of government-held cities this week and reached Aleppo almost a decade after having been pressured out of the northern Syrian metropolis.
Russia, a key ally of Assad, has promised Damascus further army help to thwart the rebels, two army sources stated, including new {hardware} would begin arriving within the subsequent 72 hours.
The rebels started their incursion on Wednesday and by late Friday an operations room representing the offensive stated they had been sweeping by means of numerous neighbourhoods of Aleppo.
They’re returning to the town for the primary time since 2016, when Assad and his allies Russia, Iran, and regional Shi’ite militias retook it, with the insurgents agreeing to withdraw after months of bombardment and siege.
Mustafa Abdul Jaber, a commander within the Jaish al-Izza insurgent brigade, stated their speedy advance this week had been helped by a scarcity of Iran-backed manpower within the broader Aleppo province. Iran’s allies within the area have suffered a sequence of blows by the hands of Israel because the Gaza battle has expanded by means of the Center East.
Opposition sources in contact with Turkish intelligence stated Turkey had given a inexperienced mild to the offensive.
However Turkish international ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli stated Turkey sought to keep away from larger instability within the area and had warned current assaults undermined de-escalation agreements.
The assault is the most important since March 2020, when Russia and Turkey agreed to a deal to de-escalate the battle.
CIVILIANS KILLED IN FIGHTING
On Friday, Syrian state tv denied rebels had reached the town and stated Russia was offering Syria’s army with air assist.
The Syrian army stated it was preventing again in opposition to the assault and had inflicted heavy losses on the insurgents within the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib.
David Carden, U.N. Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Disaster, stated: “We’re deeply alarmed by the state of affairs unfolding in northwest Syria.”
“Relentless assaults over the previous three days have claimed the lives of at the very least 27 civilians, together with youngsters as younger as 8 years outdated.”
Syrian state information company SANA stated 4 civilians together with two college students had been killed on Friday in Aleppo by rebel shelling of college pupil dormitories. It was not clear in the event that they had been among the many 27 useless reported by the U.N. official.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Friday that Moscow regarded the insurgent assault as a violation of Syria’s sovereignty.
“We’re in favour of the Syrian authorities bringing order to the world and restoring constitutional order as quickly as attainable,” he stated.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
