Aleppo Attacked: What Surprise Rebel Offensive In Syria Means For West Asia, World | Explained
The conflict, which began on Wednesday, is the first major flare-up in years between the Syrian opposition and the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, who has ruled the war-torn country since 2000
Russian and Syrian warplanes targeted insurgents in an Aleppo city suburb on Saturday after the rebel fighters penetrated the heart of the city in Syria’s northwest in a surprise attack the previous day.
The offensive, which began on Wednesday, is the first major flare-up in years between the Syrian opposition and the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, who has ruled the war-torn country since 2000. Assad is currently in Russia, where he is visiting his ailing wife.
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2016 conflict
In 2016, a brutal air campaign by Russian warplanes helped Assad retake the northwestern city. Intervention by Russia, Iran, Iranian-allied Hezbollah, and other groups has allowed him to remain in power, within the 70% of Syria under his control.
The surge in fighting has raised the prospect of another violent front reopening in West Asia, at a time when US-backed Israel is fighting Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both Iranian-allied groups.
About Aleppo, Assad
Around 350 km north of the capital Damascus, Aleppo has been a critical battleground in the Syrian civil war. Before the conflict, it was one of the country’s largest cities, home to 2.3 million people.
Assad has been at war with opposition forces seeking his overthrow for 13 years, a conflict that’s killed an estimated half-million people. Some 6.8 million Syrians have fled the country, a refugee flow that helped change the political map in Europe by fueling anti-immigrant far-right movements.
The roughly 30% of the country not under Assad is controlled by a range of opposition forces and foreign troops. The United States has about 900 troops in northeast Syria, far from Aleppo, to guard against a resurgence by the Islamic State. Both the US and Israel conduct occasional strikes in Syria against government forces and Iran-allied militias. Turkey has forces in Syria as well, and has influence with the broad alliance of opposition forces storming Aleppo.
The opposition: Golani and HTS
The US and UN have long designated the opposition force leading the attack at Aleppo—Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, known by its initials HTS—as a terrorist organization.
Abu Mohammed al-Golani emerged as the leader of al-Qaeda’s Syria branch in 2011, in the first months of Syria’s war. It was an unwelcome intervention for many in Syria’s opposition, who hoped to keep the fight against Assad’s brutal rule untainted by violent extremism.
Golani and his group early on claimed responsibility for deadly bombings, pledged to attack Western forces, confiscated property from religious minorities, and sent religious police to enforce modest dress by women. In recent years, though, they have been focusing more on promoting civilian government in their territory as well as military action. The HTS broke ties with al-Qaeda in 2016. Despite these changes, the group maintains a controversial reputation, accused of harbouring extremist elements and tolerating militant activities within its territory.
HTS is joined by several Turkish-backed factions, operating under the umbrella of the Syrian National Army. These groups have long had a complex relationship, often fighting among themselves despite their shared opposition to Assad.
History of Aleppo in the war
At the crossroads of trade routes and empires for thousands of years, Aleppo is one of the centres of commerce and culture in West Asia.
Aleppo was home to 2.3 million people before the war. Rebels seized the east side of the city in 2012, and it became the proudest symbol of the advance of armed opposition factions.
In 2016, government forces backed by Russian airstrikes laid siege to the city. Russian shells, missiles, and crude barrel bombs—fuel canisters or other containers loaded with explosives and metal—methodically levelled neighbourhoods. Starving and under siege, rebels surrendered Aleppo that year.
The Russian military’s entry was the turning point in the war, allowing Assad to stay on in the territory he held.
This year, Israeli airstrikes in Aleppo have hit Hezbollah weapons depots and Syrian forces, among other targets, according to an independent monitoring group. Israel rarely acknowledges strikes at Aleppo and other government-held areas of Syria.
(With agency inputs)
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