‘Jihadists’ with “meteoric advance” in Syria arrive at the gates of Aleppo and leave a trail of at least 240 deaths

Syrian ‘jihadists’ and their allies conquered around 50 locations in a vast offensive in northwestern Syria, approaching the large city of Aleppo and causing at least 240 deaths, including 24 civilians, humanitarian organizations announced this Friday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) reported a “meteoric advance” by the rebels, who launched an attack against government forces, attacking around 50 locations.

These are the most violent clashes since 2020 in northwestern Syria, where the province of Aleppo, largely controlled by the regime of Bashar al-Assad, borders the last major rebel and ‘jihadist’ stronghold of Idlib.

A Syrian regime official indicated that the army “sent reinforcements” to Aleppo, but assured that the attackers “did not reach the city limits”.

The group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — the Organization for the Liberation of the Levant, also known as al-Qaeda in Syria — and allied groups, some close to Turkey, began the offensive on Wednesday night, but the main fighting took place today, with the approach to Aleppo being made this morning.

According to the OSDH, based in the United Kingdom but with a vast network of sources in Syria, 24 civilians were killed on Friday, including 19 in attacks by Russian planes, allies of the regime, in rebel areas.

“They are less than two kilometers from the city of Aleppo”, said the director of the OSDH, Rami Abdel Rahmane, in statements to the French news agency AFP. The city, Syria’s second largest, was bombed for the first time four years ago.

“It is strange to see regime forces receive such blows despite Russian air cover (…) Regime forces depended on (Lebanese Shiite group) Hezbollah, which is currently occupied in Lebanon,” argued Rami Abdel Rahmane, referring to the recent war between Israel and the Lebanese movement, an ally of Damascus.

Iran is another strong ally of Syria, a country in which Tehran has become militarily involved, sending advisors, at the request of local authorities, to support President Assad during the Syrian civil war.