By Syrian rebel forces launched their most significant offensive against government troops in western Aleppo since 2020, seizing 13 villages and a major military installation in an operation they dubbed “Deterrence of Aggression,” opposition sources reported Wednesday.
The surprise attack, which opposition factions say responds to recent artillery shelling by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, has captured strategic towns including Urm Al-Sughra, Anjara, and Base 46, the largest regime installation in western Aleppo. Opposition forces claim 37 government troops and allied militia members died in the fighting.
The Military Operations Command of Syrian rebels told CNN its fighters had “liberated” Urm Al-Kubra, approximately 20 kilometers from Aleppo city, following “intense battles with Assad forces and Iranian militias.” Opposition spokesperson Hassan Abdulghani reported a “precision strike” against a helicopter at Al-Nayrab Airport east of Aleppo.
The offensive marks the first major confrontation between rebels and government forces since Russia and Turkey brokered a ceasefire in March 2020. While Syrian state media has not reported on the clashes, residents in regime-held areas of Aleppo, including the wealthy New Aleppo neighborhood, have begun evacuating due to the fighting.
Opposition forces conducting the attack include both Islamic groups and the moderate Free Syrian Army, previously backed by the United States and Turkey. The conflict represents a significant escalation in Syria’s civil war, which began during the 2011 Arab Spring as a pro-democracy uprising against Assad’s government.
The war, which has killed more than 300,000 civilians according to United Nations figures and displaced millions across the region, evolved into what observers called a “proxy war” as regional and global powers intervened. The conflict had remained largely dormant since the 2020 ceasefire, with only low-level clashes reported.
CNN
