Fri Nov 29 11:43:25 UTC 2024: ## Syrian Insurgents Launch Major Offensive, Reaching Aleppo Outskirts
**BEIRUT, November 29, 2024** – Thousands of Syrian opposition fighters, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), have launched a major offensive in northwestern Syria, making significant gains against government forces. The insurgents have advanced to the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, seizing control of numerous towns and villages.
The offensive, described as the most intense in the region since 2020, has resulted in heavy fighting. State media reported that insurgent projectiles struck Aleppo University’s student housing, killing four people, including two students. Public transportation to the city has been rerouted to avoid conflict zones. The insurgents also advanced on Saraqab, a strategically important town that controls supply lines to Aleppo.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates that dozens of fighters from both sides have been killed since the offensive began on Wednesday. The insurgents, utilizing drones for the first time in this conflict’s scale, have reportedly captured over 50 villages. This rapid advance appears to have caught government forces off guard.
Syria’s Armed Forces accuse the insurgents of violating a 2019 de-escalation agreement. State media reported airstrikes targeting insurgent positions, while the insurgents claim to have captured the Scientific Research Center neighborhood on Aleppo’s western outskirts – their closest approach to the city since 2016. The battle for Aleppo in 2016, which involved Russia and Iran’s support for the Syrian government, marked a significant turning point in the war.
The fighting has displaced thousands of families and disrupted essential services. Aid groups are concerned about the humanitarian consequences. The insurgents, however, claim their offensive aims to facilitate the return of displaced persons fleeing government bombardment.
The timing of the offensive coincides with internal conflicts elsewhere. Iran-linked groups, normally supporting the Syrian government, are currently engaged in their own conflict, following an escalation of the Israel-Hezbollah war that only recently saw a ceasefire. The ongoing situation highlights the complex regional dynamics influencing the Syrian conflict, with various international actors – including Russia, Iran, Turkey, and the United States – supporting different factions.
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