Four civilians, including two students, died Friday when insurgent shells struck university dormitories in Aleppo, state news agency SANA reported, as violence escalates in Syria’s northwest.
The attack follows Wednesday’s major offensive by rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, who launched incursions into a dozen towns and villages in Aleppo province, controlled by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. The offensive marks the largest breach of a March 2020 ceasefire between Russia, backing Assad, and Turkey, supporting the rebels.
Russian and Syrian warplanes responded Thursday with airstrikes on rebel-held areas near the Turkish border, attempting to counter insurgent advances that had captured territory for the first time in years, according to Syrian army and rebel sources.
The 2020 ceasefire had halted years of fighting that displaced millions of Syrians opposing Assad’s rule.
