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This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information.(November 2024) |
Battle of Aleppo (2024) | |||||||||
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Part of the northwestern Syria offensive (2024) during the Syrian civil war | |||||||||
Map of the battle in and around Aleppo city | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria [8] (Since 30 November) Contents | |||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
20+ rebels killed [9] | Dozens of soldiers [3] 4 T-55s captured [10] | ||||||||
22 civilians killed [11] [12] |
On 29 November 2024, Syrian opposition groups led by Tahrir al-Sham entered the Syrian Arab Army-held city of Aleppo. The battle began on the third day of a large scale rebel offensive. It is the first time fighting has broken out in the city since the earlier prolonged battle, which had ended in 2016. [13] [14]
On 30 November 2024, opposition groups captured most of the city, amid the collapse of pro-government forces. [15] [16]
On 27 November 2024, Syrian opposition groups led by Tahrir al-Sham launched an offensive on pro-government forces in Northwestern Syria. The offensive, the first of its kind by any side in the conflict since March 2020 Idlib ceasefire, resulted in the rapid capture of dozens of villages by the opposition forces. During the offensive, rebels reportedly seized 70 sites in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib and about 10,000 civilians fled the fighting to the Idlib countryside, northwestern Syria. [17] [18]
On 29 November 2024, rebel forces approached the outskirts of Aleppo. During the afternoon, rebels entered the Hamdaniyah and New Aleppo neighborhoods in the city, after carrying out a double suicide bombing with two car bombs. [13] In the latter half of the day, opposition forces captured five city districts, Al-Hamdaniya, New Aleppo, 3000 Apartments, Al-Jamiliya, and Salah al-Din districts. Clashes were reported elsewhere in the city, including its center. [15] By midnight, opposition forces had captured parts of Al-Sukariyya, Al-Furqan, Al-Adhamiya, and Saif al-Dawla districts, and claimed to have had taken control of the main square of Aleppo. [19] [20] [21]
According to eyewitnesses, residents of Aleppo fled the neighborhoods on the western side due to the exchange of missiles and gunfire. [14] The rebel forces issued evacuation warnings calling on residents of Aleppo to move eastwards "for your safety". [22] Syrian state media reported that projectiles launched by the rebels hit student housing in the University of Aleppo, killing four people, including two students. [23]
In the early hours of 30 November 2024, rebel forces captured the Citadel of Aleppo and the government headquarters in the city, as well as "more than half" of the city. [24] [19] [25] By morning, rebel forces had seized control of most of Aleppo, facing little resistance and forcing pro-government troops to retreat toward as-Safirah. [16] Government forces and Iranian militias remained in control of a few neighborhoods in northeastern Aleppo. [26]
Concurrently, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces occupied Aleppo International Airport and the Shaykh Najjar district, following the withdrawal of pro-government forces. [8] In the evening, rebels took control of Aleppo airport from the SDF without clashes. [27]
The Syrian Armed Forces (SAA) vowed to repel the attack and accused the rebels of spreading "false information" about their advance. [28] However, the army later acknowledged the rebel gains in "large parts" of the city and reported that "dozens" of its soldiers were killed, forcing it to redeploy "aimed at strengthening the defence lines in order to absorb the attack" and "preserve the lives of civilians and soldiers". It was also reportedly preparing to counter-attack, while rebel gatherings within the city were targed by airstrikes. [3]
An airstrike, reportedly carried out by Russian aircraft, killed 16 civilians and injured 20 others in the city. [12]
Saraqib is a city in northwestern Syria, administratively belonging to the Idlib Governorate, located east of Idlib. During the course of the Syrian Civil War, the city fell to rebel forces in 2012 and was recaptured by the Syrian Army in 2020. The city was captured by the Syrian Salvation Government during the 2024 Northwestern Syria offensive.
The Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement was a Sunni Islamist rebel group involved in the Syrian Civil War. In 2014, it was reportedly one of the most influential factions in Aleppo, especially the Western Aleppo countryside. Between 2014 and 2015, it was part of the Syrian Revolutionary Command Council and recipient of U.S.-made BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles. The Movement made multiple attempts to merge with the larger Islamist rebel group Ahrar al-Sham but were refused by Ahrar al-Sham's leadership. The Zenki Movement also made attempts to merge with other Islamist factions, Jaysh al-Islam and the Sham Legion. However, all merging efforts with these groups failed, leading to the Zenki Movement joining the Salafi Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in 2017. But after a few months the group left HTS and within a year went to war with HTS by joining the Turkish-backed Syrian Liberation Front alongside Ahrar al-Sham on 18 February 2018. After a series of clashes in early 2019 Al Zenki were largely defeated by HTS, expelled to Afrin and absorbed in the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army.
The Ajnad al-Sham was an independent Idlib and Hama-based rebel group active during the Syrian Civil War. The group is named after Ajnad al-Sham. It joined the Army of Conquest on 24 March 2015 and took part in the Second Battle of Idlib. On 29 March 2014, it announced that its military leader, Abu Abdullah Taoum, was killed during clashes around al-Fouaa.
The Idlib Governorate clashes , were military confrontations between Syrian rebel factions led by Ahrar al-Sham and their allies on one side and the al-Qaeda-aligned Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and their allies on the other. After 7 February, the clashes also included Jund al-Aqsa as a third belligerent, which had re-branded itself as Liwa al-Aqsa and was attacking the other combatants. The battles were fought in the Idlib Governorate and the western countryside of the Aleppo Governorate.
Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham, commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham, is a Sunni Islamist political and armed organisation involved in the Syrian Civil War. It was formed on 28 January 2017 as a merger between Jaysh al-Ahrar, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS), Ansar al-Din Front, Jaysh al-Sunna, Liwa al-Haqq, and Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement. The unification process was held under the initiative of Abu Jaber Shaykh, an Islamist commander who had been the second Emir of Ahrar al-Sham.
The Syrian National Army, previously the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian opposition groups in the Syrian Civil War. Comprising various rebel factions that emerged at the start of the war in July 2011, it was officially established in 2017 under the auspices of Turkey, which provides funding, training, and military support.
The Northern Democratic Brigade is a Free Syrian Army unit that is closely allied to the Syrian Kurdish YPG and YPJ in Afrin Region since 2014. Led by Absi Taha, Alexander Khalil, and Alexander Alaa, it also joined the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in November 2015. The initial members of the group originated from Jabal Zawiya in Idlib, and it has recruited Arabs from Idlib, Aleppo, and other cities in northern Syria since allying with the YPG. Since joining the SDF, the unit has begun to operate across much of northern and eastern Syria, participating in operations against anti-SDF Syrian opposition factions, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the Turkish Armed Forces, and the Syrian National Army.
The Idlib Governorate clashes were a series of military confrontations between Ahrar al-Sham and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). During the clashes, Tahrir al-Sham attempted to capture the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing, causing concern for Turkey, which prefers Ahrar al-Sham to be in control of the crossing. As a result of the clashes, HTS took control of Idlib city, the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing, and most of the areas along the Turkish border in the Idlib Province.
The Hama offensive , code-named Oh Servants of God, Be Steadfast, was a military offensive launched by rebel groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) north of the city Hama, as part of the Syrian Civil War.
On 19 February 2018, heavy clashes erupted between the newly established Syrian Liberation Front, which consists of Ahrar al-Sham and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement, backed by the Suqour al-Sham Brigades, and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the western Aleppo Governorate. The conflict soon spread to the Idlib Governorate and the SLF captured several towns from HTS. A ceasefire between the two groups was reached on 24 April 2018. Fighting again resumed on 1 January 2019, ending with a total HTS military victory on 9 January.
The National Front for Liberation–Tahrir al-Sham conflict began on 1 January 2019 during clashes between Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), after HTS launched an attack against the group in Darat Izza, Taqad, and Khan al-Asal fronts in rebel-held western Aleppo. The conflict ended on 10 January 2019, after the National Front for Liberation agreed to withdraw, allowing HTS to take over almost all of the remaining opposition-held areas of the Idlib pocket.
The 2019 northwestern Syria offensive, codenamed "Dawn of Idlib", was a military operation launched on 30 April 2019 by the Syrian Armed Forces and its allies against rebel groups in northwestern Syria during the Syrian civil war in a region known as "Greater Idlib", consisting of northwest Hama, southern Idlib and northeastern Latakia provinces. The government's main objectives were to open the M5 highway and to expel non-compliant militant groups, particularly the internationally proscribed al-Qaeda-linked group known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), from the 15–20 km demilitarized zone demarcated by Turkey and the Russian Federation at Sochi in 2018. The offensive was seen by both parties as crucial to the outcome of the war.
Insurgency in Idlib is an ongoing insurgency in the regions Idlib Governorate between multiple factions. The conflict is primarily between the supporters of Syrian Salvation Government and forces loyal to Syrian Arab Republic. Other factions participating in insurgency range from the Syrian opposition forces in the Syrian National Army supported by Turkey; to supporters of Al-Qaeda branch Hurras al-Din and members of the Islamic State group. The insurgency has been marked by assassinations and bombings, as well as armed confrontations with small arms and raids.
The Military Operations Command, formerly known as Al-Fatah al-Mubin or Great Conquest, is a Sunni Islamist operations room of Syrian rebel and jihadist factions participating in the Syrian civil war. The operations room was declared in June 2019, evolving from the "Damascus Conquest" operations room formed in May during the Syrian Army's Dawn of Idlib 1 campaign and consists of rebel groups operating in opposition-held areas of northwestern Syria concentrated in Idlib. The three groups comprising the coalition are Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Turkish-backed National Front for Liberation, and Jaysh al-Izza. In October 2020, HTS and two leading factions from the NLF began to finalize the creation of a Unified Military Council in Idlib.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian civil war for 2022. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found in Casualties of the Syrian civil war.
Clashes occurred between the Levant Front and the Hamza Division, two factions of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, across the Turkish-occupied areas of the Aleppo Governorate on 10 October 2022, as part of the on-going civil war in Syria. On 12 October, the Sunni Islamist group Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) joined the fighting on the side of the Hamza Division, entering the Afrin region.
Starting on 2 December 2022, a series of intensified clashes broke out of the frontlines of the 'Idlib de-escalation zone' located in the governorates of Idlib, Aleppo, Hama and Latakia. These confrontations initiated through inghimasi, infiltration and sniper attacks by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied militant groups against positions held by the pro-government Syrian Arab Army (SAA) positions. These attacks were called We Will Not Reconcile by HTS. In 2023, the first territorial offensive since 2020 was carried out by HTS in the area of Milaja.
On 27 November 2024, a coalition of Syrian opposition groups called the Military Operations Command led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched an offensive against the pro-government Syrian Arab Army (SAA) forces in Aleppo, Idlib, and Hama Governorates in Syria.