{"id":49097,"date":"2024-11-30T20:22:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-30T20:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/syrian-troops-withdraw-from-aleppo-as-rebels-advance\/"},"modified":"2024-11-30T20:22:00","modified_gmt":"2024-11-30T20:22:00","slug":"syrian-troops-withdraw-from-aleppo-as-rebels-advance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=49097","title":{"rendered":"Syrian troops withdraw from Aleppo as rebels advance"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Idlib sits just 55km (34 miles) from Aleppo, which itself was a rebel stronghold until it fell to government forces in 2016. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
The rebels have taken control of Aleppo’s airport and dozens of nearby towns, according to the SOHR.<\/p>\n
They also announced a curfew that came into force at 17:00 local time (14:00 GMT) and will remain in place until Sunday. <\/p>\n
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)”.<\/p>\n
It said dozens of its soldiers had been killed and acknowledged that rebels had entered “large parts” of Aleppo. <\/p>\n
Government forces said they had temporarily withdrawn from Aleppo, but added earlier that they were preparing a counterattack. <\/p>\n
Pictures showed the roads leading out of Aleppo jammed with cars on Saturday as residents tried to leave. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n