Syrian troops withdraw from Aleppo as rebels advance

Russia has carried out air strikes on parts of the Syrian city of Aleppo after areas were seized by rebels opposed to the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

Recent days have seen the most significant offensive against the Syrian government in years and the withdrawal of its military from Aleppo, the country’s second largest city.

Russia’s air force played a significant role in keeping Assad in power following the outbreak of the country’s civil war in 2011, but Saturday’s strikes were its first on Aleppo since 2016.

More than 300 people, including at least 20 civilians, have been killed since the offensive began, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

The civil war has been largely dormant since a ceasefire agreed in 2020, but opposition forces still controlled the north-western city of Idlib and much of the surrounding province.

Idlib sits just 55km (34 miles) from Aleppo, which itself was a rebel stronghold until it fell to government forces in 2016.

The current offensive, which was launched on Wednesday, has been led by a jihadist group known at Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions backed by Turkey.

HTS was regarded as one of the most effective and deadly of the groups fighting the Assad government and was already the dominant force in Idlib.

The rebels have taken control of Aleppo’s airport and dozens of nearby towns, according to the SOHR.

They also announced a curfew that came into force at 17:00 local time (14:00 GMT) and will remain in place until Sunday.

The Syrian army said rebels had launched “a broad attack from multiple axes on the Aleppo and Idlib fronts” and that battles had taken place “over a strip exceeding 100km (60 miles)”.

It said dozens of its soldiers had been killed and acknowledged that rebels had entered “large parts” of Aleppo.

Government forces said they had temporarily withdrawn from Aleppo, but added earlier that they were preparing a counterattack.

Pictures showed the roads leading out of Aleppo jammed with cars on Saturday as residents tried to leave.