Rebels have taken control of more than half of Syria's second largest city, Aleppo. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Friday evening (November 29) that the rebels had taken control of more than half of the city. This is the rebels' biggest advance against Syrian government forces in years.
The government forces of President Bashar al-Assad drove the rebels out of the city in 2016. Since then, it has been the rebels' biggest battle.
The BBC reported that a Sunni Muslim rebel group had surprised everyone by entering Aleppo. Rebel fighters were seen in vehicles inside the city.
The Syrian army said dozens of its soldiers had been killed and wounded in fierce fighting with the rebels.
After the rebels entered Aleppo, the Russian air force launched airstrikes targeting various infrastructures. Mass protests against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in 2011. At that time, he took a tough approach to suppressing the protesters. Then the protesters started an armed uprising. This started a civil war in the country.
However, in 2015, Russia came to the rescue of Bashar al-Assad. That year, they launched a massive airstrike targeting Syria. After that, the rebels were forced to retreat.
But recently, the Lebanese Shiite armed group Hezbollah has become active again, taking advantage of the weakening of the Lebanese Shiite armed group Hezbollah and Russia's preoccupation with Ukraine. They entered Aleppo for the first time since 2016. On the other hand, the Syrian government has been forced to withdraw its troops.
On Friday, a channel linked to the rebels said in a statement: "Our forces have started to enter the city of Aleppo."
The BBC confirmed that the video shows armed men running on a street seven kilometers from the center of Aleppo.
However, the country's government says that additional forces have arrived in Aleppo and are pushing back the rebels.
Meanwhile, Aleppo airport has been closed amid tensions and all flights have been canceled, Reuters news agency reported.