After Entering Aleppo, Syrian Insurgents Advance To A Nearby Province In A Major Setback For Assad | rssama.com

BEIRUT (AP) — Thousands of Syrian insurgents took complete astir of Aleppo connected Saturday, establishing positions successful nan country’s largest metropolis and controlling its airdrome earlier expanding their daze violative to a adjacent province. They faced small to nary guidance from authorities troops, according to fighters and activists.

A warfare monitor, nan Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said nan insurgents led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham seized power of Aleppo International airport, nan first world airdrome to beryllium controlled by insurgents. The fighters claimed they seized nan airdrome and postefd pictures from there.

Thousands of fighters besides moved on, facing almost nary defense from authorities forces, to prehend towns and villages successful bluish Hama, a state wherever they had a beingness earlier being expelled by authorities troops successful 2016. They claimed Saturday evening to person entered Hama city.

A immense embarrassment for Assad

The swift and astonishment violative is simply a immense embarrassment for Syria’s President Bashar Assad and raised questions astir his equipped forces’ preparedness. The insurgent violative launched from their stronghold successful nan country’s northwest appeared to person been planned for years. It besides comes astatine a clip erstwhile Assad’s friends were preoccupied pinch their ain conflicts.

Turkey, a main backer of Syrian guidance groups, said its negotiated efforts had grounded to extremity authorities attacks connected opposition-held areas successful caller weeks, which were successful usurpation of a de-escalation statement sponsored by Russia, Iran and Ankara. Turkish information officials said a constricted violative by nan rebels was planned to extremity authorities attacks and let civilians to return, but nan violative expanded arsenic Syrian authorities forces began to retreat from their positions.

The insurgents, led by nan Salafi jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and including Turkey-backed fighters, launched their daze violative connected Wednesday. They first staged a two-pronged onslaught successful Aleppo and nan Idlib countryside, entering Aleppo 2 days later and securing a strategical municipality that lies connected nan road that links Syria’s largest metropolis to nan superior and nan coast.

By Saturday evening, they seized astatine slightest 4 towns successful nan cardinal Hama state and claimed to person entered nan provincial capital. The insurgents staged an effort to reclaim areas they controlled successful Hama successful 2017 but failed.

Preparing a counterattack

Syria’s equipped forces said successful a connection Saturday that to sorb nan ample onslaught connected Aleppo and prevention lives, it redeployed troops and instrumentality and was preparing a counterattack. The connection acknowledged that insurgents entered ample parts of nan metropolis but said they person not established bases aliases checkpoints. Later connected Saturday, nan equipped forces sought to dispel what it said were lies successful reference to reports astir its forces retreating aliases defecting, saying nan wide bid was carrying retired its duties successful “combatting violent organizations.”

The return of nan insurgents to Aleppo was their first since 2016, pursuing a grueling military run successful which Assad’s forces were backed by Russia, Iran and its allied groups.

The 2016 conflict for Aleppo was a turning constituent successful nan warfare betwixt Syrian authorities forces and rebel fighters aft 2011 protests against Assad’s norm turned into an all-out war. After appearing to beryllium losing power of nan state to nan rebels, nan Aleppo conflict secured Assad’s clasp connected strategical areas of Syria, pinch guidance factions and their overseas backers controlling areas connected nan periphery.

The lightning violative threatened to reignite nan country’s civilian war, which had been mostly successful a stalemate for years.

Late connected Friday, witnesses said 2 airstrikes deed nan separator of Aleppo city, targeting insurgent reinforcements and falling adjacent residential areas. The Observatory said 20 fighters were killed.

Insurgents were filmed extracurricular constabulary headquarters, successful nan metropolis center, and extracurricular nan Aleppo citadel, nan medieval palace successful nan aged metropolis center, and 1 of nan largest successful nan world. They tore down posters of Assad, stepping connected immoderate and burning others.

The push into Aleppo followed weeks of simmering low-level violence, including authorities attacks connected opposition-held areas.

The violative came arsenic Iran-linked groups, chiefly Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has backed Syrian authorities forces since 2015, person been preoccupied pinch their ain battles astatine home. A ceasefire successful Hezbollah’s two-month warfare pinch Israel took effect Wednesday, nan aforesaid time that Syrian guidance factions announced their offensive. Israel has besides escalated its attacks against Hezbollah and Iran-linked targets successful Syria during nan past 70 days.

Insurgents raise flags complete nan Aleppo citadel

Speaking from nan bosom of nan metropolis successful Saadallah Aljabri square, guidance combatant Mohammad Al Abdo said it was his first clip backmost successful Aleppo successful 13 years, erstwhile his older relative was killed astatine nan commencement of nan war.

“God willing, nan remainder of Aleppo state will beryllium liberated” from authorities forces, he said.

There was ray postulation successful nan metropolis halfway connected Saturday. Opposition fighters fired successful nan aerial successful ceremony but location was nary motion of clashes aliases authorities troops present.

Journalists successful nan metropolis filmed soldiers captured by nan insurgents and nan bodies of others killed successful battle.

Abdulkafi Alhamdo, a coach who fled Aleppo successful 2016 and returned Friday nighttime aft proceeding nan insurgents were inside, described “mixed feelings of pain, sadness and aged memories.”

“As I entered Aleppo, I kept telling myself this is impossible. How did this happen?”

Alhamdo said he strolled done nan metropolis astatine nighttime visiting nan Aleppo citadel, wherever nan insurgents raised their flags, a awesome quadrate and nan assemblage of Aleppo, arsenic good arsenic nan past spot he was successful earlier he was forced to time off for nan countryside.

“I walked successful (the empty) streets of Aleppo, shouting, ‘People, group of Aleppo. We are your sons,’” he told The Associated Press successful a bid of messages.

City’s hospitals are full

Aleppo residents reported proceeding clashes and gunfire but astir stayed indoors. Some fled nan fighting.

Schools and authorities offices were closed Saturday arsenic astir group stayed indoors, according to Sham FM radio, a pro-government station. Bakeries were open. Witnesses said nan insurgents deployed information forces astir nan metropolis to forestall immoderate acts of unit aliases looting.

The U.N. Office for nan Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Friday Aleppo’s 2 cardinal nationalist hospitals were reportedly afloat of patients while galore backstage accommodation closed.

In societal media posts, nan insurgents were pictured extracurricular of nan citadel, nan medieval palace successful nan aged metropolis center, and 1 of nan largest successful nan world. In cellphone videos, they recorded themselves having conversations pinch residents they visited astatine home, seeking to reassure them they will origin nary harm.

The Syrian Kurdish-led management successful nan country’s eastbound said astir 3,000 people, astir of them students, had arrived successful their region aft fleeing nan fighting successful Aleppo, which has a sizeable Kurdish population.

State media reported that a number of “terrorists,” including sleeper cells, infiltrated parts of nan city. Government troops chased them and arrested a number who posed for pictures adjacent metropolis landmarks, they said.

On a authorities TV greeting show Saturday, commentators said service reinforcements and Russia’s assistance would repel nan “terrorist groups,” blaming Turkey for supporting nan insurgents’ push into Aleppo and Idlib provinces.

Russia’s authorities news agency Tass quoted Oleg Ignasyuk, a Russian Defense Ministry charismatic coordinating successful Syria, arsenic saying that Russian warplanes targeted and killed 200 militants who had launched nan violative successful nan northwest connected Friday. It provided nary further details.

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Associated Press writer Albert Aji successful Damascus contributed to this report.

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SyriaaleppoBashar Assad