Half of Aleppo now under Syrian jihadist control: war monitor

Jihadists and allied factions have taken control of "half of the city of Aleppo," said Rami Abdul Rahman, the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, to AFP early Saturday (30 November).

Rami said that "half of the city of Aleppo is now under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied factions", adding that "there has been no fighting, not a single shot was fired, as regime forces withdrew."

Earlier on the day, Syrian authorities closed Aleppo airport as well as all roads leading into the city today (30 November), three military sources told Reuters, as rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad said they had reached the heart of Aleppo.

The opposition fighters, led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, carried out a surprise sweep through government-held towns this week and reached Aleppo nearly a decade after having been forced out by Assad and his allies.

As Syrian rebels sweep into Aleppo, army closes airport and roads, sources say

Russia, one of Assad's key allies, has promised Damascus extra military aid to thwart the rebels, two military sources said, adding new hardware would start arriving in the next 72 hours.

The Syrian army has been told to follow "safe withdrawal" orders from the main areas of the city that the rebels have entered, three army sources told Reuters.

The rebels began their incursion on Wednesday, and by late Friday, an operations room representing the offensive said they were sweeping through various neighbourhoods of Aleppo.

They are returning to the city for the first time since 2016, when Assad and his allies Russia, Iran, and regional Shi'ite militias retook it, with the insurgents agreeing to withdraw after months of bombardment and siege.

Mustafa Abdul Jaber, a commander in the Jaish al-Izza rebel brigade, said their speedy advance this week had been helped by a lack of Iran-backed manpower in the broader Aleppo province. Iran's allies in the region have suffered a series of blows at the hands of Israel as the Gaza war has expanded through the Middle East.

The opposition fighters have said the campaign was in response to stepped-up strikes in recent weeks against civilians by the Russian and Syrian air force on areas in rebel-held Idlib and to preempt any attacks by the Syrian army.

Opposition sources in touch with Turkish intelligence said Turkey, which supports the rebels, had given a green light to the offensive.

But Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said on Friday that Turkey sought to avoid greater instability in the region and had warned recent attacks undermined de-escalation agreements.

The attack is the biggest since March 2020, when Russia and Turkey agreed to a deal to de-escalate the conflict.