State media and rescue workers reported that Syrian government warplanes conducted strikes in the vicinity of and within Aleppo, located in northwest Syria, on Monday. The government was attempting to repel insurgents who had recently seized control of the city in a lightning offensive.
According to the White Helmets, a propaganda organization with links to Islamist rebels, airstrikes also struck residential buildings in the city of Idlib, which has become a primary hub of the jihadist movement in Syria.
According to SANA, a Syrian state-run news agency, the outskirts of Aleppo were the target of a joint operation between Russian and Syrian forces.
While the civil conflict between the government and rebel forces has been at a standstill since 2020, the opposition offensive represents the most significant challenge to Assad in years.
Additionally, it presents a dilemma for the United States and other Western nations regarding their Syria policy.
During the more than decade-long conflict, the possession of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and a significant trading center prior to the conflict, has been a significant prize.
In 2012, Assad and Russia initiated a military offensive that lasted for years in order to reclaim a portion of the city that had been captured by opposition forces that year. The insurgents fled the city in 2016.
Among other things, the United States has sanctioned the Assad regime for years. Additionally, the first Trump administration conducted airstrikes against Syrian military assets in 2018.
However, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Syria’s largest rebel group, is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. It is currently commanding the offensive and has antecedents that were affiliated with al Qaeda.
According to Turkey’s state news agency, the Syrian National Army, a rebel faction sponsored by Turkey, announced on Monday that it had seized territory from Kurdish-led groups in the Tel Rifaat district near Aleppo, in yet another indication of the intensification of hostilities.
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