"Syrian opposition forces capture half of Aleppo without resistance", says SOHR
Rami Abdul Rahman, head of SOHR to Kurdistan24; "Currently, half of the city of Aleppo is under Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham and its controlled forces; opposition fighters reached Aleppo Castle without firing a single gunshot."
Nov. 30, 2024
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Saturday the opposition forces have taken up half of Aleppo city as, without any resistance, until this morning, they reached their city's historic citadel.
Rami Abdul Rahman, the head of SOHR explained to Kurdistan24; "Currently, half of the city of Aleppo is under Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham and its controlled forces." He added also "opposition fighters reached Aleppo Castle without firing a single gunshot following the withdrawal of regime forces."
The SOHR director explained, "Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces have taken control of Saraqib district in Idlib governorate. It is a strategic area because it blocks the way to regime forces towards Aleppo and it is an important conjunction point that links Aleppo to Latakia and Damascus."
Aleppo, the largest northern governorate and the second-largest in Syria, has not witnessed such an opposition presence in its center since 2016, as it took control of a number of districts, sub-districts, and neighborhoods.
The battles between the Syrian regime and Turkish-backed opposition factions escalated for the first time to rural Aleppo on Wednesday, the 27th of Nov.
The statistics of SOHR had indicated that more than 288 members fell among the casualties in the past few days, including 28 civilians, with scores injured, some seriously.
Aleppo has been one of the most critical battlefronts since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011. What was once Syria's commercial hub was divided between the government and opposition forces until 2016, when regime forces regained full control after a devastating siege and bombing campaign.
This new development puts northern Syria into a whole new perspective of power balance, especially as Aleppo has served as an important linkage of major cities in Syria, not too far from the Turkish border.
This new development was made with resistance from nowhere, thus giving the perception of weakening regimes in control of that part of the region. Thus, such a possibility changes the perspective of the Syrian theatre of ongoing conflict.