Syrian authorities have shut down Aleppo airport and cancelled all flights following a insurgent incursion into the town, army sources knowledgeable Reuters on Saturday. The offensive, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, marks the primary time opposition fighters have reached Aleppo’s centre since their defeat practically a decade in the past.
The rebels launched their shock assault on Wednesday, sweeping by way of government-held cities and advancing into Aleppo by late Friday, in keeping with an operations room coordinating the offensive.
Mustafa Abdul Jaber, a commander with the Jaish al-Izza brigade, credited their fast progress to an absence of Iran-backed forces within the area, which have been weakened by Israeli strikes amid the broader Center East tensions triggered by the Gaza battle.
Turkey is reported to have given tacit approval for the offensive, in keeping with opposition sources linked to Turkish intelligence. Nonetheless, Turkish overseas ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli acknowledged that Ankara prioritises regional stability and cautioned that latest assaults threaten current de-escalation agreements.
Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has pledged extra army help to Damascus to counter the offensive. “New army {hardware} will arrive inside 72 hours,” two army sources informed Reuters. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov condemned the assault, describing it as a violation of Syria’s sovereignty and calling for a swift restoration of constitutional order.
The most recent violence represents probably the most vital escalation since March 2020, when Russia and Turkey brokered a deal to scale back hostilities. Syrian state tv denied reviews of rebels coming into Aleppo, claiming that Russian airstrikes had supported authorities forces in inflicting heavy losses on the insurgents in Aleppo and Idlib’s countryside.
Civilians endure amid intensified preventing
The United Nations expressed grave concern over the humanitarian toll of the renewed battle. David Carden, the UN Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Disaster, mentioned, “Relentless assaults over the previous three days have claimed the lives of no less than 27 civilians, together with youngsters as younger as eight years outdated.”
State media company SANA reported that 4 civilians, together with two college students, had been killed in Aleppo by insurgent shelling focusing on college dormitories. It stays unclear whether or not they’re among the many casualties cited by the UN.
Because the preventing intensifies, considerations develop over its potential to additional destabilise the area, which has already endured years of conflict and displacement.
(with inputs from Reuters)
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