Syrian rebels take control of Aleppo in unexpected winter offensive
Syrian opposition group HTS seized Aleppo and nearby regions in a quick military operation using home-made drones. The attack happened while Assadʼs main allies Russia and Iran were busy with other conflicts
In early-December 2024 the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched a quick-strike operation capturing Aleppo and many nearby towns. Abu Mohammed al-Jolani who leads HTS used locally-made drones to catch Syrian government forces off-guard
The fighting caused big losses on both sides: over 400 people died and 14‚000 had to leave their homes. For the first time since 2016 some anti-government people started coming back to their home-towns that HTS now controls
The war in Syria began when Bashar al-Assad used force against pro-democracy protests in 2011; since then over 500000 people died and 7 million left their homes. Back in 2016 Russia helped Assad take Aleppo using air-strikes but now Russia is busy with its Ukraine war
Several schools and clinics in Idlib province have already been targeted
The attacks hit many important places in the region:
- Aleppo University Hospital
- Idlib University Hospital
- Ibn Sina Hospital
- Idlib Health Directorate
- A camp for displaced people
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said its wrong to think outside countries caused this fighting. Turkey has its troops in Syria and about 900 US soldiers stay in the north-east fighting whats left of Islamic State. The situation got more complex as Assads forces left some areas to Kurdish groups which Turkey sees as enemies
