Syrian rebel groups, led by the Levant Liberation Organization and backed by Turkey, launched their first major offensive in nearly five years, capturing around 50 towns in three days in northern Syria, reports said Friday. the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH). . The fighting is concentrated at the gates of Aleppo and in the province of Idlib, the last stronghold of the opposition in the country.
Since the start of the offensive which began on Wednesday, at least 255 people have already been killed: 144 rebel fighters and 87 soldiers from the Syrian army and its allies, in addition to 26 civilians. Among the civilian victims, 19 died in Russian aircraft bombings, six students died following the launch of rebel rockets against the university town of Aleppo and another civilian died under artillery fire.
The offensive comes at a critical time, as Turkey seeks to restore diplomatic relations with Bashar al-Assad’s regime, broken since the start of the civil war 13 years ago. However, Damascus is demanding that Ankara withdraw its troops from northern Syria and end its support for opposition groups in order to advance negotiations.
The conflict has caused massive displacement in affected areas. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 14,000 people, almost half of them children, have fled their homes in recent days, while 30 humanitarian organizations and 24 medical centers have suspended their operations due to clashes. . In western Aleppo, residents are leaving their homes fearing the approach of fighting, as the Syrian army sends reinforcements to stop the rebels’ advance.
The Levant Liberation Agency said the campaign was a response to “the intensification of recent airstrikes by Syrian and Russian forces against civilians in Idlib, as well as an attempt to preempt a possible attack by the Syrian army, which has massed troops near the front lines,” reports Reuters.
Although Turkey and Russia negotiated a ceasefire for the Idlib region in 2020, clashes and sporadic bombings never completely stopped. This new outbreak of violence threatens to further destabilize northern Syria, a region devastated by more than a decade of civil war that has left more than half a million dead since its outbreak in 2011, when the regime Assad has violently repressed pro-democracy protests.
