A major attack by Syrian rebel forces and allied factions was launched on Syrian military positions in western Aleppo on Wednesday, marking the most significant opposition offensive in Syria in the past four years.
Opposition forces reportedly captured several villages and two tanks belonging to Assad’s army, according to multiple reports from the area.
In response, the Syrian army, in coordination with Russian military forces, launched aerial assaults targeting rebel-held areas.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that factions aligned with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied groups under the al-Fatah al-Mubin operations room advanced on strategic locations in Qubtan al-Jabal and Sheikh Aqil near the 46th Regiment.
The offensive was characterized by intense exchanges of artillery and rocket fire between government forces and HTS-aligned factions. Government forces, in turn, shelled the rear positions of the factions in areas around Atarib, Darat Izza, and surrounding villages. The observatory also reported that a Russian warplane conducted airstrikes in the area, using vacuum missiles in an attempt to halt the rebel advance.
This latest offensive, which resulted in the capture of multiple key positions, comes amid a period of relative stagnation in Syria’s civil conflict, where the frontlines had largely remained static in recent years. The attack by HTS and its allied factions aims to put additional pressure on Assad’s forces in Aleppo, a strategically important region.
The Syrian government, backed by Russian military power, has managed to maintain control over most of Syria in recent years, but this latest attack underscores the ongoing volatility of the conflict. The return of large-scale operations by opposition forces may signal a shift in strategy and renewed efforts to contest the areas under government control.