Syrian Rebels Push Their Advance Toward 2nd Largest City Aleppo

Damascus: Thousands of Syrian rebels continued their advance into government-controlled areas in the northwest, reaching the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city, and seizing control of several key towns and villages, according to activists and fighters on Friday.

Syria's state media reported that insurgent projectiles struck student housing at Aleppo University's city center, killing four people, including two students. To avoid clashes, public transportation to Aleppo has been rerouted from the main highway connecting the city to Damascus, according to state-controlled media.

Sounds of missiles were heard on the outskirts of Aleppo, according to reports from residents in the city.

Fighters also pushed forward into the town of Saraqab in northwestern Idlib province, a strategic location crucial for securing supply lines to Aleppo.

This week's advances mark one of the biggest offensives by opposition factions, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), following weeks of low-level violence. It represents the most intense fighting in northwestern Syria since 2020, when government forces reclaimed areas previously held by opposition fighters. Additionally, it is the largest attack on Aleppo since opposition forces were driven out of its eastern region in 2016.

Syria's Armed Forces said the insurgents are violating a 2019 agreement that de-escalated fighting in the area, which has been the last remaining opposition stronghold for years.

State media reported airstrikes on insurgents' positions in Aleppo and Idlib countrysides.

The war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of fighters from both sides have been killed in the battles that started on Wednesday.

The insurgents have seized control of more than 50 villages in their advance, which seem to have caught the government forces unprepared.

The offensive came as Iran-linked groups, who had backed Syrian government forces since 2015, have been preoccupied with their own battle at home.

Israel and Hezbollah, the lead group in the Iran-backed alliance, have been locked in a war that escalated since September. A cease-fire was announced Wednesday, the day the Syrian opposition factions announced their offensive. Israel has also escalated its attacks against Hezbollah and Iran-linked targets in Syria during the last 70 days.

“Hezbollah was the main force in the government's control of the city,” said Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Observatory, the war monitor.

The insurgents reported that fighters have wrestled controlled of the Scientific Research Centre neighbourhood, about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the western outskirts of Aleppo city.

Government-linked media reported ongoing clashes in the area, denying the insurgents have seized it.

The Associated Press was not able to immediately verify the claims.

Insurgents posted videos online showing they were using drones in their advance, a new weapon they had not had previously in the earlier stages of their confrontation with government forces. It was not clear to what extent the drones were used on the battleground.

Turkiye's state-run Anadolu Agency, reporting from Idlib, estimated that the Syrian opposition fighters have seized control of an area of some 400 square kilometers in Aleppo and Idlib province, reaching one kilometer (0.6 miles) outside of Aleppo City.

The agency also reported that the insurgents attacked a military airbase southeast of Aleppo city with drones early Friday, destroying a helicopter.

It said the opposition groups seized heavy weapons, depots and military vehicles belonging to the government forces during their advance.

Aid groups said the fighting has displaced thousands of families, and forced some services to be suspended. The opposition fighters said their offensive will allow the return of thousands of displaced people who were forced to flee government bombardment in recent weeks.

The 2016 battle for Aleppo was a turning point in the war between Syrian government forces and rebel fighters since the 2011 protests against Bashar Assad's rule turned into an all-out war.

Russia and Iran and its allied groups had helped Syrian government forces reclaim control of all of Aleppo that year, after a gruelling military campaign and a siege that lasted for weeks.

Turkiye has been a main backer of an array of opposition forces and its troops have established military presence in parts of northwestern Syria. Separately and largely in the east of Syria, the United States has supported Syrian Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State militants.

(with agency inputs)