By Suleiman Al-Khalidi
AMMAN (Reuters) – Russian and Syrian warplanes attacked insurgents in a suburb of the city of Aleppo on Saturday, two Syrian military sources said, after rebel fighters penetrated the heart of the city in northwestern Syria in a surprise attack the day before.
The attack by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham marks the most significant challenge in years for President Bashar al-Assad, shaking the front lines of the Syrian civil war that have been largely frozen since 2020.
The Syrian Civil Defense, a rescue service that operates in opposition-controlled areas of Syria, said in a post on controlled by the rebels, killing four civilians and wounding six others.
Russia, which deployed its air force to Syria in 2015 to support Assad in the war, promised Damascus additional military aid to thwart the rebels, the two military sources said, adding that it would begin arriving in the next 72 hours.
The insurgent force began its surprise offensive earlier this week, sweeping through government-held cities and reaching Aleppo nearly a decade after government forces backed by Russia and Iran drove the rebels out of the city.
Syrian authorities closed Aleppo airport and all roads leading to the city on Saturday, two military sources and a third army source said.
The Syrian army has been ordered to follow “safe withdrawal” orders from the main areas of the city that the rebels have entered, the three military sources said.
On Friday, Syrian state television denied that rebels had reached the city and said Russia was providing air support to the Syrian army.
The Syrian army said on Friday it was counterattacking the attack and had inflicted heavy losses on insurgents in rural areas of Aleppo and Idlib.
Also speaking on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow viewed the rebel attack as a violation of Syria’s sovereignty.
“We are in favor of the Syrian authorities putting order in the area and restoring constitutional order as soon as possible,” he said.
The rebels began their incursion on Wednesday under the umbrella of an operations room, including Turkish-backed groups. On Friday, the operations room said its forces were sweeping several neighborhoods in Aleppo.
Assad regained full control of the city of Aleppo from rebel forces in 2016, with the help of Russian airpower and Iranian-backed Shiite militias, and the insurgents agreed to withdraw after months of bombing and siege.
The insurgents maintained a foothold near Aleppo, in Idlib province, and in areas north of the city, on the border with Türkiye.
DISPLACEMENT EFFECT OF THE GAZA WAR
Mustafa Abdul Jaber, commander of the rebel Jaish al-Izza brigade, said its rapid advance this week had been helped by a lack of Iranian-backed manpower in Aleppo province. Iran’s allies in the region have suffered a series of blows at the hands of Israel as the Gaza war has expanded across the Middle East.
Opposition fighters have said the campaign was in response to intensified attacks in recent weeks on civilians by the Russian and Syrian air forces in rebel-held areas of Idlib, and to prevent any army attacks. Sirius.
Opposition sources in contact with Turkish intelligence said Türkiye, which supports the rebels, had given the green light to the offensive.
Turkish officials were not immediately available for comment Saturday.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that clashes between rebels and government forces in the northwest had led to an undesirable escalation of tensions.
In a statement on Friday, spokesman Oncu Keceli said avoiding further instability in the region was Turkey’s priority, adding that Ankara had warned that recent attacks on Idlib undermined the spirit and implementation of detente agreements.
The insurgent attack is the largest since March 2020, when Russia and Türkiye agreed to a deal to de-escalate the conflict.