Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham fighters have captured Syrian army weapons depots and armoured vehicles in northern Aleppo province, resulting in the deaths of almost 100 fighters and soldiers. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that HTS and allied forces took over at least 10 areas controlled by Bashar al-Assad’s military, with 44 HTS members and 16 allied fighters killed, along with 37 Syrian regime forces. Civilian casualties also occurred during the clashes, with Syrian army forces firing shells and missiles at both civilian and military positions.
The offensive by HTS forces, advancing 10km from the outskirts of Aleppo city, was prompted by increased air strikes on civilians by the Russian and Syrian air force in southern Idlib. The Syrian army had been building up troops near the front lines with HTS and other groups, leading to the preemptive attack. The fighting prompted hundreds of families in Aleppo to flee to safer areas along the Turkish border.
HTS, designated as a terrorist organization by the US, has distanced itself from al-Qaeda and rebranded as a more moderate group with local goals in Syria. Despite being targeted by Syrian and Russian forces, HTS has become the most powerful rebel group in northwestern Syria. Russia’s involvement in the Syrian civil war since 2015 has supported al-Assad’s regime against rebel forces, with the conflict showing no signs of abating.
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