Syrian authorities closed Aleppo airport on Saturday as well as all roads leading into the city, three military sources told Reuters, as rebels against President Bashar al-Assad said they had reached central Aleppo.
Opposition fighters led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham carried out a surprise raid on government-held cities this week, arriving in Aleppo nearly a decade after being driven out by Assad and his allies. Two military sources announced the delivery of the equipment, adding that new equipment will begin arriving within the next 72 hours.
The Syrian army was ordered to follow orders to “safely withdraw” from the main areas of the city where the rebels had entered, three army sources said. The rebels began their incursion on Wednesday and on Friday afternoon the operations center behind the offensive said they were taking several areas of Aleppo.
They return to the city for the first time since 2016, when Assad and his allies Russia, Iran and regional Shiite militias retaken it and the rebels agreed to withdraw after months of bombing and siege.
Mustafa Abdul Jaber, commander of the rebel Jaysh al-Izza brigade, said its rapid advance this week was aided by the lack of Iranian-backed troops in Aleppo province. Iran’s allies in the region have suffered a series of attacks from Israel as the war in Gaza spreads to the Middle East.
Opposition fighters said the campaign was a response to increased attacks on civilians by Russian and Syrian air forces in rebel-held areas of Idlib in recent weeks, as well as to prevent possible attacks by the Syrian army. .
Opposition sources linked to Turkish intelligence said Türkiye, which backs the rebels, gave the green light to the offensive.
But Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said on Friday that Türkiye was seeking to avoid further instability in the region and warned that the recent attacks were undermining tension-reduction agreements.
