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December 2, 2024 | 10:10 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Rebel forces have taken control of the city of Aleppo in Syria and the President's Palace Bashar al Assad on Sunday night, December 1, 2024, according to Arab media reports cited by Jerusalem Post. The takeover of the palace occurred after the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) stormed the city of Aleppo a day earlier.
The palace was captured along with the Aleppo Military Academy located nearby. Rebel forces also claimed to have seized the Russian air defense system.
This marks the first time since the start of the Syrian war in 2012 to 2016 that the Assad regime has lost control of the second city in Syria. The takeover of Aleppo signifies a serious decline in the regime's control.
Reports indicate that all of Bashar al-Assad's forces have evacuated the city. The only remaining area in the city not under rebel control is the northern Kurdish neighborhood.
According to Al Jazeera, the rebels are fighters from the armed group Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham. They stormed the city of Aleppo through a lightning offensive, which forced the Syrian army to retreat from the northern city after eight years in power there.
The rebel attack is the most intense battle to occur in northwest Syria since 2020 when Russia and Turkey agreed to de-escalate the conflict. At that time, government forces recaptured areas previously held by opposition fighters.
Government forces have controlled Aleppo since 2016, almost a year after Russia intervened to support President Bashar al-Assad. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that its air force carried out attacks on Sunday to support the Syrian army, according to a report from the Russian news agency.
Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham, previously known as Front al-Nusra, has been designated as a terrorist group by the United States, Russia, Turkey, and several other countries.
In Washington, the White House National Security Council stated that it is closely monitoring the situation and has been in contact with the regional capital for the past 48 hours.
Peaceful protests erupted against al-Assad following the 2011 Arab Spring protests. However, the protests quickly escalated into violence and later turned into a proxy war after widespread crackdowns on opposition figures and demonstrators.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions have been displaced since 2011. Most major battles ceased several years ago after Iran and Russia assisted the al-Assad government in regaining control of most territories and all major cities. The rebels were pushed to the Idlib province bordering Turkey.
To face the rebels, the Syrian military stated that it is preparing a counterattack. Airstrikes are targeting rebel gatherings and convoys in the city, according to the pro-Damascus newspaper Al-Watan.
The Syrian military command said the rebels have attacked from various directions. "This has prompted our armed forces to carry out repositioning operations aimed at strengthening defense lines to withstand attacks, save civilian lives, and soldiers," the military said in a statement.
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