Anti-government forces in Syria approach the outskirts of Aleppo
29 November, 2024 Assault by anti-government forces in Syria. Freeze frame from video Anti-government forces approached the outskirts of Aleppo in Syria 48 hours after the start of a new military operation against the troops of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
Visegrad 24 reported on this. This is the first time since April 2020 that the Syrian opposition has launched active offensive operations with a series of coordinated strikes. The evacuation of students from the local university has already begun in Aleppo:
Students are evacuated from University of Aleppo as Syrian rebels from the Idlib province reach Aleppo.
The rebels made it to the city in just 48 hours, to the complete surprise of everyone. pic.twitter.com/hsTGDPGNp0 -- Visegrad 24 (@visegrad24) November 29, 2024
As Urich, a Middle East observer, wrote on Militarnyi, the offensive began on the morning of November 27, west of the city of Aleppo. Fighting intensified exclusively in the areas controlled by the Assad regime on the left flank of the areas of joint control with Kurdish forces from the Military Council of Manbij.
Further, in a rapid advance, the opposition fighters managed to make significant progress on the frontline section up to 20 km wide and 7 to 10 km deep (according to various estimates), liberating more than a dozen villages. This morning, the senior editor of BILD, a German publication that tracks the war in Ukraine and Syria, posted on his X (ex-Twitter) page that Assad's forces had lost control of nine more villages:
Control of the territory south of the city of Aleppo in Syria on the morning of November 29, 2024. Map: X/Julian Ropcke
One version of the control of the territory near Aleppo.
Green is controlled by the opposition before the offensive. Gray-green are the territories taken under control in the first two days of the operation. Blue - for the night of November 28-29.
Map: Levant24.com
Taking control of these settlements cut the M5 highway connecting the Syrian capital with Aleppo. This greatly complicated the logistics of government troops (Syrian Arab Army) in the city. It is reported that in the city itself, the movements of the forces of the 25th Division of the Syrian Arab Army, called the "Tiger Forces", had been noticed, moving to the front in Western Aleppo, where anti-government forces had entered it:
???The Syrian army is preparing in the city center of Aleppo for a battle against rebels with the jihadist movement Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham
Forces of the 25th Commando Division of the Syrian Arab Army, nicknamed "Tiger Forces," are moving towards the front in West Aleppo pic.twitter.com/yGC0HPNyWk -- Joseph Graniczny (@GranicznyJoseph) November 29, 2024
It is worth recalling that anti-government forces partially controlled this city of more than two million people from 2012 to 2016. The Syrian Arab Army was assisted by the Russian and Iranian armies in regaining control.
Russian military in Aleppo after 2015.
Photo credits: Russian Ministry of Defense
Russian aviation played a major role in this, randomly bombing opposition-controlled areas, killing both military and civilians.
During the same offensive, several Russian Special Forces were reportedly killed on the contact line.