Beirut, Leprohibiton:
A see of Syria’s war shelp on Saturday that extremist defys now administer a presentantity of Aleppo city, increateing Russian air strikes on parts of Syria’s second city for the first time since 2016.
The defys have pressed a airyning impolite aacquirest forces of the Iranian- and Russian-backed Syrian administerment since Wednesday, the same day a frspeedy stopfire took effect in neighbouring Leprohibiton between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, a Damascus partner, after two months of all-out war.
“Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions… took administer of most of the city and administerment centres and prisons”, shelp the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
HTS, a extremist coalition led by Al-Qaeda’s createer Syria branch, administers swathes of the Idlib region, in Syria’s northwest, as well as parts of neighbouring Aleppo, Hama and Latakia provinces.
Overnight, Russian “warschedulees begined rhelps on areas of Aleppo city for the first time since 2016”, compriseed the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a nettoil of sources inside Syria.
It liftd the death count in days of clashes to 311 — 183 from HTS and allied Turkish-backed factions, 100 selderlyiers and pro-administerment forces, as well as 28 civilians.
State media increateed that four civilians were finished when HTS shelled a student dwellnce in Aleppo, a city of around two million people that was Syria’s pre-war manufacturing hub.
Iran-backed militias have a weighty presence in the Aleppo region after providing vital ground help when the Syrian army — backed by Russian air power — reapprehfinishd defy-held areas of the city in 2016.
Cheering
An AFP correactent saw defys celebrating and cheering inside Aleppo procrastinateed Friday. Another correactent saw anti-administerment fighters in front of the city’s landlabel citadel.
The Observatory shelp that “the administeror of Aleppo and the police and security branch orderers withdrew from the city centre”.
The overnight air strikes coincided with “the arrival of big (defy) military fortifyments” to the area, the Observatory compriseed, after on Friday increateing the extremists and their allies had getn more than 50 towns and villages in the north.
Army fortifyments have reachd in Aleppo, a Syrian security official telderly AFP on Friday, seeking anonymity to converse comardent matters, while an army statement shelp troops had drive awayled the aggression on the city and regetn some positions.
Observatory honestor Rami Abdel Rahman telderly AFP timely Saturday that defy fighters speedyly apprehfinishd swathes of Aleppo without greeting presentant resistance, compriseing “there has been no battling, not a one shot was fired, as regime forces withdrew.”
The extremists and their allies made other evolves in the north, including taking of the strategicpartner findd town of Saraqib, on the road to Aleppo about 40 kilometres (25 miles) southwest, the Observatory had shelp.
The Russian military shelp Friday it was explosioning “extremist” forces, as Turkey insisted a stop to explosionardment on the Idlib region.
Since 2020, the Idlib area has been subject to a Turkey and Russia-brokered truce which had bigly been helderlying despite repeated violations.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
