Cairo/Beirut, Dec 1, (dpa/GNA) – Rebel forces have taken control of Aleppo from Syrian government forces, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told dpa.
“The Syrian regime has completely lost control of Aleppo,” head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel-Rahman, told dpa.
The northern city is under the control of an anti-government opposition alliance, led by the Islamist extremist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), with the exception of four neighbourhoods north-west of the city, which are being controlled by Kurdish forces, according to Rami.
The HTS-led alliance launched an offensive, that quickly made surprising gains against the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The rebel offensive, which began on Wednesday, appears to have taken al-Assad’s regime by surprise, and rebel forces quickly made advances into the Aleppo area.
Aleppo, a historic and sprawling metropolis in northern Syria, was retaken by al-Assad’s forces from rebels in 2016, after years of bloody and destructive fighting.
Experts have described the rebel gains in recents days as a significant turning point, in the brutal and long-running Syrian civil war.
GNA