Over the past few hours, factions of the armed opposition in northern Syria have entered several neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo, which is considered the second largest city in Syria and has been described as the economic capital of the country for decades.
The neighborhoods that the factions entered are: Al-Hamdaniya, New Aleppo, 3000 Apartments, Al-Jamiliyah, and Salah al-Din, according to two media sources who spoke to the Al-Hurra website, and a report published by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The entry of the factions came after an attack they launched two days ago, and first targeted villages and towns located in the western countryside of Aleppo, as well as its southern countryside.
The armed factions opened a third offensive axis, on Friday morning, in which they took control of the city of Saraqeb, located on the international highway in the Idlib countryside, known as (M4), and are still advancing, according to their official statements.
Who does the armed faction include?
The identity of the factions participating in the attack on Aleppo and its countryside, which is under the control of the Syrian regime and militias affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, operates in two frameworks. The first is led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (formerly the Al-Nusra Front), and the second includes factions supported by Turkey and other groups active militarily in the north. Western Syria has been isolated for years.
These factions say that their attack aims to “repel the danger of the Syrian regime forces and Iranian militias, and secure the areas they control.”
She added in her first statement, on Wednesday, that her attack comes as a response to the recent escalation campaign initiated by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, targeting populated areas with artillery, missiles, and drones, resulting in the deaths of civilians.
How did the Syrian regime respond?
As of Friday evening, the Syrian Ministry of Defense issued two statements, the first announcing that it had been attacked and that it was working to repel it.
In the second, it said that it “continues to confront the major attack launched by armed terrorist organizations, affiliated with the so-called (Al-Nusra terrorist front) on the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib.”
The Syrian regime’s Ministry of Defense indicated that the attack by the armed factions included the use of various types of heavy and medium weapons, in addition to drones.
What about “guarantor parties”?
Mashhad has governed the regions of northwestern Syria, which includes Idlib and parts of the Aleppo and Latakia countryside, for years by a series of agreements and understandings concluded between Turkey and Russia on the one hand, and Iran on the other hand, within what is known as the “Astana” process.
In the first statement of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its spokesman, Oncu Keçeli, said, “Maintaining calm in Idlib and the surrounding area, which is located at ground zero on our borders, is a priority for Turkey.”
He added, “Since 2017, several agreements have been reached regarding the de-escalation zone in Idlib. Türkiye is seriously committed to the requirements of all agreements to which it is a party.”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman also indicated that his country warned “various international platforms that the recent attacks on Idlib have reached a level that undermines the spirit and implementation of the Astana Agreements, and that there are huge losses among civilians. We stressed the necessity of putting an end to these attacks.”
On the other hand, the Russian Kremlin described the situation in Aleppo as “an infringement on Syria’s sovereignty.”
He said in a statement on Friday that “the Russian Federation supports restoring order in the region.”
He added: “With regard to the situation around Aleppo, this is of course an infringement on Syria’s sovereignty in this region, and we call on the Syrian authorities to quickly restore order in this region and restore constitutional order.”
As for Iran, its Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ismail Baghaei, said on Thursday that “Aleppo, Idlib and their countryside are part of the de-escalation zones under the Astana Agreement,” and that “the armed groups’ operation is a violation of the agreement.”
The Iranian official considered that the recent moves “come as part of an American-Israeli plan to destabilize the region,” as he described it.
What does attack mean?
What the opposition armed factions have achieved inside Aleppo, and in its countryside, breaks the maps drawn by the agreement between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Sochi, March 2020.
It also breaks the boundaries established by the “Astana” process in 2019, in the presence of the leaders of Iran, Turkey, and Russia.
Among the most prominent areas that the factions took control of on Friday morning was the Al-Hader area, which they lost in 2015 at the hands of the Syrian regime forces and the Iranian militias that supported it at the time.
In addition to this area is the 47th Regiment, located west of Aleppo, and the Scientific Research Building, which constituted the first entry station into the neighborhoods that the factions took control of on Friday night.
Data so far indicate that the factions are seeking to tighten control over the entire city of Aleppo. If it does so, this will be the largest step of its kind on the military level since 2011.
There was no comment from the Syrian regime regarding the information confirmed by the Al-Hurra website and published by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights regarding the entry of armed factions into the neighborhoods of Aleppo.
Activists posted on social media a series of video recordings documenting the entry of armored cars and opposition fighters into the Hamdaniyah neighborhood and New Aleppo.
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