January
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This is a chronological account of combat operations in 2016 during the Battle of Aleppo, part of the Syrian Civil War.
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On 22 February, Jund al-Aqsa captured the village of Rasm al-Nafal, to the southwest of Lake Jabbul, severing the Ithriyah-Khanasser Highway again for the second time in 5 months. Soon afterwards, the Syrian Army deployed reinforcements to the village from the town of Al-Safira, to recapture it and reopen the key supply route. [1] [2] By the next day, ISIL had also captured multiple villages along the southern shore of Lake Jabbul and to the south of Rasm al-Nafal, sealing off more of the Aleppo road. Although the Syrian Army managed to recapture a number of points on the highway, they were still unable to expel the Syrian rebel and ISIL forces from the vast majority of the villages that they had seized. [3] ISIL forces also captured a point on the Sheikh Hilal-Ithriyah Road, shutting down that highway as well. [4] Later on 23 February, it was reported that ISIL captured the strategic town of Khanasser, advancing further along the Ithriya-Khanasser Highway. [5]
On 25 February, the Army launched a large-scale counterattack, dislodging ISIL from the town of Khanasir, which had been captured by the militants two days earlier. [6] The counter-attack concluded 29 February 2016, when the Syrian Arab Army re-opened a supply route to Aleppo city. [7]
On 20 March, ISIL forces started an assault on the Sheikh Najjar Industrial District, [8] capturing the villages of Kafr Saghir and Babinnis. By 22 March, however, the Syrian Army managed to repel the ISIL offensive and regain control over the two villages. [9]
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On 25 June, the Syrian army and allied forces began their long-awaited North-west Aleppo offensive. [10] The ultimate goal of the offensive was to cut the Castello highway, which is the last supply route for rebels inside the city, thus fully encircling remaining opposition forces. [11]
On 7 July, the Syrian Army imposed fire control over the Castello highway, as they advanced to within 1 km of the last rebel supply route into Eastern Aleppo, after capturing the Southern Mallah farms from the Al Nusra Front and other forces. [12]
On 11 July, Jabhat Al-Nusra launched an offensive inside Aleppo city capturing 10 buildings near the Al-Morour building (police station); however, this offensive was repelled and the SAA retook control of all lost buildings. [13]
On 17 July, the Syrian Army reached and captured the Castello highway, tightening the blockade of the rebel-held eastern Aleppo. [14] [15]
On 27 July, the Army officially declared it had cut off all rebel supply routes into Aleppo. [16]
Following the implementation of the siege, Syrian President Bashar Assad offered a general amnesty to militants who surrender to the government authorities in the next three months. Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, said that President Putin ordered a large-scale humanitarian operation outside Aleppo ”to help civilians who were taken hostage by terrorists as well as fighters who wanted to lay down the arms.” Shoigu also mentioned that three humanitarian corridors as well as food and first aid points will be offered outside the city. [17] The rebels prevented residents from fleeing through humanitarian corridors, with only a few residents being able to leave encircled opposition-held districts. [18] [19] Pro-opposition sources claimed two young men were shot by Army snipers while they were trying to cross through the humanitarian crossings. [20] [21]
See 2016 Aleppo summer campaign (June–September 2016)
See 2016 Aleppo summer campaign (June–September 2016)
On 22 September, airstrikes were conducted on five districts of Aleppo. [22] [23] By the next day, due to the continues airstrikes, whole neighborhoods were in flames. [24] Meanwhile, the Army made ground advances in the north and south of the city. [25] [26]
On 24 September, the airstrikes continued, [27] while the Army advanced in the Handarat Camp district and near the Aleppo citadel. [28] By the end of the day, government troops withdrew from the Handarat Camp. [29] Om 25 September, government forces secured the Shaher district and launched a new assault on the Handarat Camp. [30]
On 27 September, airstrikes hit two hospitals, [31] while the Army captured the Farafira district. [32]
On 28 September, government troops advanced in the al-Suweiqa district of Old Aleppo. [33]
On 29 September, the Army took control of the Handarat Camp district [34] and subsequently attacked the Kindi hospital, which had been made into a rebel base, [35] as well as the nearby Shaqayf district. [36]
On 30 September, government forces seized the Kindi hospital, [37] while "back and forth" fighting took place in the central Suleiman Al-Halabi district. [37]
A timeline of combat operations during the Battle of Aleppo throughout the year 2015.
Operation Rainbow was an operation launched by the Syrian Army, supported by Hezbollah and other allied militias, during the Syrian Civil War, following a successful operation which led to the military encircling Aleppo from the east side and reaching the city's northern approach. The aim of the operation, as the previous one, was to encircle Aleppo and cut rebel supply lines into the city, thus besieging rebel-held areas.
The Aleppo offensive was a Syrian Army large-scale strategic offensive south of Aleppo. The main objective of the operation was to secure the Azzan Mountains, while also creating a larger buffer zone around the only highway to the provincial capital controlled by the Syrian government. A related objective was to establish favourable conditions for a planned offensive to isolate rebel forces in Aleppo City and to relieve the long-standing siege of a pro-government enclave in Aleppo Governorate.
On 14 September 2015, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) – in cooperation with the National Defence Forces (NDF) and the Al-Ba'ath Battalion – launched a fresh offensive inside the Aleppo Governorate's southeastern countryside in order to lift the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham's (ISIS) two-year-long siege of the isolated Kuweires Military Airbase. This offensive was later complemented by another effort starting mid-October further south, which would be aimed at cementing government control over the main logistical route to Aleppo from central Syria.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from January to April 2016. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
Following the Syrian Arab Army's successful Kuweires offensive, during the Syrian Civil War, which ended with the securing of the Kuweires Military Airbase on 16 November 2015, the Syrian Army launched a new offensive in the eastern countryside of the Aleppo Governorate, with the aim of expanding the buffer zone around the airbase and disrupting ISIL supply lines.
The Ithriyah-Raqqa offensive was a military operation conducted by the Syrian Arab Army against ISIL, during the Syrian Civil War, with the aim of reaching the ISIL-held Al-Tabqa Military Airport.
The 2016 Khanasir offensive was a military operation conducted by ISIL and Jund al-Aqsa, during the Syrian Civil War, with the aim of cutting the Syrian government's only supply route to the northern part of the Aleppo Governorate, which runs through the town of Khanasir.
The Northern Aleppo offensive was a series of military operations launched by Syrian opposition forces against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and vice versa in the northern Aleppo Governorate, near the Syria–Turkey border, the city of Azaz and the town of Mare'. The offensive is supported by airstrikes against ISIL conducted by the United States-led CJTF-OIR coalition and artillery shelling by the Turkish Armed Forces.
The 2016 Aleppo summer campaign started with a military operation launched on the northern outskirts of Aleppo in late June 2016, by the Syrian Arab Army. The aim of the offensive was to cut the last rebel supply line into Aleppo city.
The Aleppo offensive refers to a military operation launched on the southern outskirts of Aleppo at the end of July 2016 by rebel forces in Syria. The aim of the offensive was to establish a new supply line into Aleppo city, after a previous Army offensive had cut off all rebel access to Aleppo.
The Aleppo offensive of September–October 2016 was the military operation launched in Aleppo in late September 2016 by the Syrian Army and its allies aiming to capture all of the remaining rebel-held parts of the city of Aleppo. Rebel forces controlling East Aleppo at that time were primarily fighters of Fatah Halab, although a significant number of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham fighters were also present.
The Battle of al-Bab was a battle for the city of al-Bab in the Aleppo Governorate that included a military offensive launched by Syrian rebel groups and the Turkish Armed Forces north of al-Bab, a separate Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) offensive east and west of the city, and another Syrian Army offensive from the south of the city. The northern Turkish-led forces intended to capture al-Bab from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as part of the Turkish military intervention in Syria. By the end of the battle, the Turkish-led forces had captured al-Bab, Qabasin, and Bizaah, while the Syrian Army captured Tadef and other areas further south, with the SDF making gains further to the east and the west.
The Palmyra offensive in December 2016 was a military operation launched by the military of ISIL which led to the re-capture of the ancient city of Palmyra, and an unsuccessful ISIL attack on the Tiyas T-4 Airbase to the west of the city. ISIL previously controlled the city from May 2015 until March 2016.
The siege of Deir ez-Zor was a large-scale siege imposed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) against several districts in the city of Deir ez-Zor held by the Syrian Army, in an attempt to capture the city and secure full control of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. The ISIL siege of the city lasted for almost 3 years and 2 months, after which the Syrian Army launched a successful offensive that fully recaptured the city nine weeks later.
The East Aleppo offensive (2017), also referred to as the Dayr Hafir offensive, was an operation launched by the Syrian Army to prevent Turkish-backed rebel forces from advancing deeper into Syria, and also to ultimately capture the ISIL stronghold of Dayr Hafir. Another aim of the operation was to gain control of the water source for Aleppo city, at the Khafsa Water Treatment Plant, in addition to capturing the Jirah Military Airbase. At the same time, the Turkish-backed rebel groups turned towards the east and started launching attacks against the Syrian Democratic Forces, west of Manbij.
The Maskanah Plains offensive was an operation by the Syrian Army against the remaining Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) strongholds in the eastern countryside of the Aleppo Province, with the goal of recapturing the Maskanah Plains from ISIL and advancing into the Raqqa Governorate.
The Eastern Hama offensive (2017) was a military operation conducted by the Syrian Army against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) with the goal to secure the Ithriyah-Sheikh Hilal road, the government supply line towards Aleppo, and advance towards Wadi Auzain.
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