Syrian rebels have seized Aleppo. The army backed by Russia and Iran surrendered the city without a fight. Bashar al-Assad allegedly fled to Moscow VIDEO

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Armed Syrian rebels entered Aleppo on Friday, just three days after their surprise offensive, marking the first time they set foot in the country’s second-largest city since government forces recaptured the city in 2016, CNN reports, quoted by News.ro

Rebel forces launched a surprise attack this week, sweeping through several villages outside the city and reigniting a conflict that has been largely frozen for years.

In a geotagged video by CNN, a rebel fighter is filming as he drives through the deserted streets of the western part of the city. He praises Allah as the vehicle approaches the Zine El Abidine mosque in western Aleppo city.

Another clip shows rebel fighters in front of the huge equestrian statue of Bassel al-Assad, the deceased brother of the current Syrian president. This area has never been under rebel control.

The major landmark in the center of New Aleppo, the statue Bashar’s deceased brother Bassel al-Assad is under Syrian rebel control. This area was never under rebel control before.pic.twitter.com/I8Epxas5iP

— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) November 29, 2024

Clips of joy and fireworks in Aleppo also appeared on social media. The city came back under the control of the Damascus regime after a particularly brutal and bloody campaign, directly supported by Russia with planes and missiles.

Meanwhile, in Aleppo, rebels are celebrating victory and setting off fireworks in the city center

Assad’s army has effectively surrendered the country’s largest city without a fight.

Aleppo in three days! Putin, what’s with your face? pic.twitter.com/SyzsOG9cns

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) November 29, 2024

In a telephone conversation with his Syrian counterpart, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States and Israel of “reactivating” the rebels and “underscored Iran’s continued support” for the Syrian government and army.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called on the Syrian authorities to “quickly restore order in this area and restore constitutional order.”

Bashar al-Assad would have already gone to Moscow to ask for help from Putin, wrote several opposition journalists.

Both Iran and Russia are key allies of Syria.

Syria’s civil war began during the 2011 Arab Spring, when the regime suppressed a pro-democracy uprising against Assad. The country entered a full-scale civil war with the formation of a rebel force, known as the Free Syrian Army, which clashed with government troops.

The conflict has escalated as other regional actors and world powers – from Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United States to Russia – have stepped in, escalating the civil war into what some observers have described as a “proxy war”. ISIS also managed to establish itself in the country before suffering significant blows.

Since the 2020 ceasefire agreement, the conflict has remained largely dormant, with low-level clashes between rebels and the Assad regime.

According to the United Nations, more than 300,000 civilians have been killed in more than a decade of war, and millions have been displaced across the region.