By Suleiman Al-Khalidi
AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian rebels in the last opposition enclave in northern Syria launched on Wednesday a wide-scale military operation against the Syrian army and seized territory in the first such advance in years, army and rebel sources said.
The rebel offensive overran at least 10 areas under the control of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in northwestern Aleppo province, said a source in the operations room run by a coalition of insurgent groups led by the militant Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
The land incursion is the first such territorial advance since March 2020 when Russia, which backs Assad, and Turkey, which supports the rebels, agreed to a ceasefire that led to military action halting in Syria’s last major rebel stronghold in the country’s northwest.
Rebels advanced almost 10 km (6 miles) from the outskirts of Aleppo city and a few kilometres away from Nubl and Zahra, two Shi’ite towns where Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah has a strong militia presence, an army source said.
They attacked Al-Nayrab airport east of Aleppo, where pro-Iranian militias have outposts.
Rebels say the campaign was in response to stepped-up strikes in recent weeks against civilians by the Russian and Syrian air force on areas in southern Idlib, and to preempt any attacks by the Syrian army, which was building up troops near front lines with rebels.
The army pounded areas near rebel-held Idlib city and the cities of Ariha and Sarmada along with other areas in southern Idlib province, according to an army source.
Official media did not report the fighting but pro-government websites said the army had pounded Hayat Tahrir al-Sham hideouts and killed dozens.
Witnesses said hundreds of families in the last refuge for opponents of Assad fled to safer areas along the Turkish border.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States, has long been targeted by Syrian-government and Russian forces.
It competes with Turkey-backed mainstream rebels groups that also control swathes of territory along the border with Turkey in northwest Syria.
(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Rod Nickel)
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