Syria: fighting intensifies between Bashar Al-Assad's troops and jihadist rebels
According to reports, 255 people have already been killed since the rebels launched a heavy attack against the Syrian president's army on Wednesday. In addition, an organization indicated that the jihadist opponents of the Al-Assad regime are near the gates of Aleppo, the second most important city in the country.
Rebel jihadists in the Aleppo province, Syria.
In northwestern Syria, fighting continued Friday between rebel forces and the army of President Bashar Al-Assad. More specifically in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, after the jihadists opposing the regime launched the largest offensive carried out against the Syrian regime since March 2020 this Wednesday, when Russia, which supports Al-Assad, and Turkey, which backs the rebels, reached a ceasefire agreement that ended years of hostilities.
On Thursday, following the rebel offensive, aircraft from Russia and Al-Assad carried out bombing raids in the region.
According to reports, the jihadists, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, continue to advance in rural areas and have already taken control of some 50 villages, forcing some 14,000 people to leave their homes.
At least 255 people have been killed since the fighting began, most of them rebels and Syrian army soldiers.
The UN said at least 27 civilians were killed in the fighting, 19 of them as a result of airstrikes carried out by Russia and Al-Assad's forces.
Rebels at the gates of Aleppo
According to reports, this Friday the rebels attacked the city of Aleppo, the second largest in Syria. The Arab country's state agency reported that four people were killed in an offensive against student residences at Aleppo University.
A day earlier, rebels also attacked Al-Nayrab airport in eastern Aleppo, where there are pro-Iranian militia positions.
While a Syrian security source claimed that the rebels are not in the vicinity of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights noted that the jihadists are also seeking to dominate the roads leading to that city.
The organization added that the clashes are taking place five kilometers south of Aleppo.
Cross accusations
The rebels justified their campaign by claiming that it constitutes a reaction to attacks carried out in recent weeks by Russian and Syrian government forces in southern Idlib, as well as to pre-empt any offensive by Al-Assad's army, which was sending troops near the rebel-held area.
Al-Assad's government and Russia said for their part said that the rebel attacks were a violation of the 2020 agreement.
Iran blames Israel and the US
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stated that this attack is part of a "diabolical plan of the terrorist regime (Israel) and the United States," and called for "firm and coordinated action to prevent the spread of terrorism in the region."
It should be noted that Irani s considered the head of the octopus in the Middle East, as it finances and supports terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip, such as Hamas; in Lebanon, Hezbollah; in Yemen, the Houthis; as well as in Syria and Iraq.
The US bombing in Syria
The United States said Tuesday that it carried out a bombing against a weapons depot in eastern Syria, controlled by pro-Iranian militias, in response to an attack perpetrated against US forces, which are in the Arab country, especially to combat the terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS).
The announcement, made by the US Central Command (CENTCOM), added that the US offensive was in response to the launch of a missile that hit a US base in the Al-Omar oil field in Deir Ezzor province on Monday.
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