11/28/2024–|Last updated: 11/28/202404:34 (Mecca time)
Armed opposition factions advanced rapidly in northwest Syria and took control of several towns and villages in the western Aleppo countryside after fighting with regime forces and attacked a military airport, while a military source and activists said the attackers were now just 10 kilometers from Aleppo city.
The Military Operations Department for the Battle of Deterring Aggression, led by a coalition of armed factions, said in a statement yesterday Wednesday that opposition forces had taken control of the 46th regiment, the largest military site regime forces west of Aleppo.
He added that his forces had taken control of 17 villages and towns west of Aleppo, including Qubtan al-Jabal, Ainjara, Urum al-Sughra, Sheikh Aqeel and the Kafr Basin.
The Department of Military Operations went on to say its forces seized vehicles, ammunition and heavy weapons and killed more than 40 members of the regime and military groups loyal to it.
At the gates of Aleppo
Reuters cited an unnamed military source as saying the opposition fighters advanced and were about 10 kilometers from the outskirts of Aleppo city and a few kilometers from the Shiite towns of Nubl and Al-Zahraa. They also attacked Al-Nayrab airport in the east. of Aleppo, where pro-Iranian militias are stationed.
The progress is the first of its kind since March 2020, when Russia, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Turkey, which supports opposition factions, agreed to a ceasefire that put an end to military clashes in the last major opposition country. stronghold in northwest Syria.
Fighters from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and factions of the Syrian National Army participated in the attack against Syrian regime forces.
Al Jazeera Net correspondent said opposition factions captured 6 regime members and seized 5 tanks, an armored vehicle and a missile depot.
For their part, Syrian media reported that up to 100 members of both sides had been killed.
In this context, the activists also confirmed that after this advance, the opposition forces were approximately 10 kilometers from the city of Aleppo.
The tanks that were bombarding us returned to their people. The first moments of the liberation of Qubtan al-Jabal, the first areas liberated today as part of the operation to deter aggression. pic.twitter.com/ZG6VA27WGM
– Hadi Al-Abdullah Hadi (@HadiAlabdallah) November 27, 2024
Syrian-Russian bombing
Pro-opposition news sites reported that Russian and Syrian aircraft launched raids on areas under the control of armed factions in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib, and that these areas were also bombarded by surface-to-surface missiles, according to the same sources.
A military source said the Syrian army bombarded areas near the city of Idlib, controlled by armed factions, the towns of Jericho and Sarmada, as well as other areas in southern Idlib governorate.
Eyewitnesses said hundreds of families fled to safer areas along the Turkish border.
Yesterday, Wednesday, the armed opposition announced the start of what it calls the “battle to deter aggression”, and Hassan Abdul Ghani, spokesperson for the Al-Fath Al-Mubin operations room – which includes Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham, the National Liberation Front and other factions said the aim of the operation was to launch a “preemptive strike” against the military buildup of regime forces and militias that are loyal to him, who threaten the “liberated areas”. as he said.
Activists said factions have observed significant movements of Syrian regime forces over the past few days along rural axes west of Aleppo, requiring increased preparation alongside escalation by the regime of its artillery and missile bombardments on the towns of Atarib, Darat Azza and towns in the western countryside of Aleppo in general.
The clashes in the Aleppo countryside come after months of relative calm, punctuated by sporadic bombing operations carried out by Syrian regime forces on private areas controlled by the opposition.