Insurgents Breach Aleppo: Heavy Clashes Erupt in Syria’s Second-Largest City
Insurgents breached the western edge of Syria’s second-largest city, Aleppo, on Friday after detonating two car bombs and clashing with government forces, according to fighters and a Syria war monitor. This marks the first attack on Aleppo by opposition forces since 2016, when they were driven out of the city’s eastern neighborhoods after a brutal military campaign backed by Russia, Iran, and allied forces.
Witnesses in Aleppo reported that residents in the western neighborhoods have been fleeing amid heavy missile strikes and intense firefights. The government has not commented on the insurgents’ breach of the city’s defenses.
In response, Syria’s Armed Forces issued a statement confirming clashes with insurgents in the Aleppo and Idlib regions. They claimed to have destroyed several enemy drones and heavy weapons and vowed to repel the assault, accusing the insurgents of spreading false information about their gains.
Thousands of insurgents began advancing toward Aleppo after launching a surprise offensive on Wednesday. The insurgents have since captured several towns and villages along the way. This offensive comes as Iran-backed groups, who have supported the Syrian government since 2015, have been preoccupied with internal conflicts.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, reported that the insurgents detonated two car bombs on the western outskirts of Aleppo on Friday.
An insurgent commander posted a message on social media calling for Aleppo residents to support the advancing forces. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency also reported that the insurgents had entered Aleppo’s city center, claiming they had breached government defenses along the Hamdaniyya, New Aleppo, and Zahra axes on the city’s outskirts. According to their report, the insurgents now control about 70 locations in Aleppo and Idlib provinces.
Earlier Friday, Syrian state media reported that insurgent projectiles struck student housing at Aleppo’s university, killing four people, including two students. To avoid clashes, public transportation to Aleppo was diverted from the main highway linking the city to Damascus.
Fighting also spread to the town of Saraqab in northwestern Idlib province, which is considered a key area for securing supply lines to Aleppo.
This offensive is one of the largest by opposition factions in recent months, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), and is the most intense fighting in northwestern Syria since 2020, when government forces regained territory previously held by the opposition.
The Syrian Armed Forces claimed that the insurgents are violating a 2019 de-escalation agreement, which had been in place to reduce fighting in the region, the last major opposition stronghold in Syria. The war monitor reported that dozens of fighters from both sides have been killed since the battles began on Wednesday. The insurgents have seized more than 50 villages in their advance, which appears to have taken government forces by surprise.
The offensive comes amid escalating tensions involving Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group that has supported the Syrian government. Hezbollah has been engaged in conflict with Israel, which has also conducted attacks on Hezbollah and Iran-linked targets in Syria in recent weeks. The group was a key force in helping the government regain control of Aleppo during the 2016 battle.
On Friday, insurgents reported capturing the Scientific Research Center neighborhood, located about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from Aleppo’s western edge. However, government-linked media denied these claims.
Videos posted online by the insurgents showed them using drones in their advance, marking a new weapon in their arsenal. However, it’s unclear how extensively the drones were used in the fighting. Anadolu Agency reported that insurgents also attacked a military airbase southeast of Aleppo, destroying a helicopter and seizing heavy weapons and vehicles from government forces.
Aid groups have reported that the ongoing clashes have displaced thousands of families and disrupted essential services. The opposition forces claim that their offensive will pave the way for the return of displaced civilians who had fled previous government bombardments.
The 2016 battle for Aleppo was a significant turning point in the Syrian Civil War, with Russian and Iranian-backed government forces retaking the city after a months-long siege. Turkey, which has supported opposition forces, maintains a military presence in parts of northwestern Syria. Meanwhile, the U.S. has supported Kurdish forces in eastern Syria, primarily in the fight against ISIS militants.
As the fighting continues to intensify, the situation in Aleppo and surrounding areas remains volatile, with no clear end in sight.
