On Friday, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (formerly the Al-Nusra Front) and its allied factions took control of 5 neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, two days after a surprise military operation launched by those factions against areas controlled by government forces in northern and northwestern Syria.
Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said that HTS and allied factions “took control of 5 neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo,” explaining that “the factions’ advance occurred without significant resistance” on the part of government forces.
The armed factions entered the city of Aleppo, after battles that lasted for more than 48 hours, during which hundreds of people were killed and wounded on both sides and civilians.
A source close to the factions’ military operations department said, “Their forces continue their advance on the various southern, western and northern fronts, and entered the Al-Rashideen neighborhood and the scientific research center at the western and southern entrance to the city of Aleppo.”
He pointed to “progress in all battle axes in the south and west of the city of Aleppo and control over dozens of towns and villages.”
On the other hand, the Syrian army announced in a statement on Friday that it would continue to confront the attack.
The army said in a statement: “Our armed forces operating on the Aleppo and Idlib countryside fronts continue to confront the major attack launched by terrorist organizations,” adding that its forces were able to “regain control of some points that witnessed violations during the past hours.”
Russian and Syrian aircraft also launched more than 20 raids on Idlib and surrounding villages, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, as a result of violent clashes between the Syrian army and militants.
