Syria's forces withdraw from Aleppo amid counteroffensive preparations
Photo: The Syrian city of Aleppo, destroyed during the civil war (Getty Images)
The Syrian government army announced its withdrawal from Aleppo. Syrian rebels earlier began to take control of a large city in the northwest of the country, reports Reuters.
Syrian government troops, who are subordinate to dictator Bashar al-Assad, are temporarily withdrawing from Aleppo. According to the military, this is part of the regrouping before the arrival of reinforcements.
The withdrawal from Aleppo is related to the preparation of a counteroffensive to retake the city from opposition groups. Dozens of soldiers have been killed or wounded in the last few days in battles with rebels in Aleppo and Idlib.
What is happening in Syria
This week, thousands of rebels led by Islamists from Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a large-scale offensive against the government forces of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in eastern Idlib and western Aleppo province. After three days of fighting, they managed to enter the city, which has been under the full control of Bashar al-Assad's forces since 2016.
Read more in the article Rebels storming Aleppo. What’s unfolding in Syria and where is Assad.
Syrian government troops were not ready for the attack and fled to Damascus. According to unconfirmed reports, Assad immediately arrived in Moscow. According to Reuters, Russia has promised military assistance that is due to arrive within three days.
Russian aviation has struck Aleppo for the first time since 2016. The bombing also targeted towns and villages occupied by rebels earlier. About 20 members of the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham opposition group were killed.
Aleppo was the site of one of the fiercest battles of the Syrian civil war. In 2016, Assad's troops cut off the rebels from supplies and attempts to break through failed. By December, government forces occupied the city. The battle was accompanied by massive Russian-Syrian air strikes and artillery shelling of residential areas.
