Aleppo, Syria‘s second-largest city, is no longer under the iron fist of murderous dictator Bashar al-Assad for the first time since the civil war began.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based NGO said that an alliance of rebel groups now ‘control Aleppo city, except the neighbourhoods controlled by the Kurdish forces.’
Rami Abdel Rahman, the NGO’s leader, said: ‘For the first time since the conflict started in 2012, Aleppo city is out of control of Syrian regime forces.’
Assad’s whereabouts were unknown as of Saturday night, ahead of a scheduled visit from Iran‘s foreign minister today.
He said in his first comments since the start of the surprise offensive that his regime would defeat the ‘terrorists and their supporters’, adding that the Syrian army was strong enough to beat them no matter the intensity of their attacks.
He is also reported to have spoken to Iraq‘s prime minister Mohammed al-Sudani, who gave him reassurances abut Iraq’s readiness to support Syria in combating the rebels.
Sudani reportedly stressed his country’s willingness to assist in its fight against the rebellion, amid fears that a coup will take place in the coming days.
Iran’s top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, today said that his country will ‘firmly support the Syrian government and army.’
Anti-government fighters pose for a picture on a tank on the road leading to Maaret al-Numan in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province on November 30, 2024
Smoke billows in the distance as damaged cars are seen at the site of Syrian regime airstrikes targeting anti-regime fighters in Aleppo, in northern Syria on November 30, 2024
People check the damage at the scene of a Syrian regime airforce strike that targeted a neighbourhood in Syria’s rebel-held northern city of Idlib on December 1, 2024
Thousands of Syrian insurgents fanned out inside Aleppo in vehicles with improvised armour and pickups, deploying to landmarks such as the old citadel on Saturday, a day after they entered Syria’s largest city facing little resistance from government troops.
Syria’s armed forces said in a statement Saturday that to absorb the large attack on Aleppo and save lives, it has redeployed and is preparing for a counterattack.
They were supported by Damascus-ally Moscow, which responded with its first air strikes on Aleppo since 2016 as the jihadists and their Turkish-backed allies pressed a lightning offensive they launched on Wednesday.
Several schools in Aleppo were destroyed in the strikes, with one video showing a boys’ school reduced to little more than a pile of rubble.
Windows of nearby schools were blown out.
Another video showed rebels toppling a statue of Bashar al-Assad’s brother after they stormed Aleppo.
Insurgents were filmed outside police headquarters, in the city center, and outside the Aleppo Citadel. They tore down posters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, stepping on some and burning others.
In footage posted to X, rebels can be seen tearing down the statue of the president’s brother Bassel al-Assad, who died in a car crash in 1994.
An injured child is transported to a hospital following a strike by the Syrian regime airforce, that targeted a neighbourhood in Syria’s rebel-held northern city of Idlib on December 1, 2024
People check the damage at the scene of a Syrian regime airforce strike that targeted a neighbourhood in Syria’s rebel-held northern city of Idlib on December 1, 2024
This aerial picture shows a partial view of Aleppo with smoke rising in the background after jihadists and their allies entered the northern Syrian city on November 30, 2024
The video shows how insurgents manage to yank at the statue by tying it to rope that is attached to a moving truck.
As the figure topples over and smashes onto the hard floor, rebels can be heard cheering and chanting as they fire gunshots into the air.
Cars driving by join in on the celebration as they honk their horns.
The jihadist-led rebels seized Aleppo airport and dozens of nearby towns on Saturday after overrunning most of Aleppo, a war monitor said.
Rebels are currently marching on Damascus, Syria’s capital city, where small skirmishes have been reported.
The US said last night that Assad’s loss of control over much of his nation is because of his reliance on Russia and Iran.
Syria’s ‘reliance on Russia and Iran,’ along with its refusal to move forward with a 2015 peace process outlined by the UN Security Council, ‘created the conditions now unfolding,’ National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement.
He added: ‘At the same time, the United States has nothing to do with this offensive, which is led by Hay’at Tahir al-Sham (HTS), a designated terrorist organization.’
Aleppo, Syria ‘s second-largest city, is no longer under the iron fist of murderous dictator Bashar al-Assad (pictured)
An injured girl and a woman are transported to a hospital following a strike by the Syrian regime airforce, that targeted a neighbourhood in Syria’s rebel-held northern city of Idlib on December 1, 2024
The surprise takeover is a huge embarrassment for al-Assad, who managed to regain total control of the city in 2016, after expelling rebels and thousands of civilians from its eastern neighborhoods following a gruelling military campaign in which his forces were backed by Russia, Iran and its allied groups.
Aleppo has not been attacked by opposition forces since then.
The 2016 battle for Aleppo was a turning point in the war between Syrian government forces and rebel fighters after 2011 protests against al-Assad’s rule turned into an all-out war.
More to follow.
