Syria: Authorities Shut Aleppo Airport & Roads to City As Anti-Assad Rebels Launch Offensive

Syria: Authorities Shut Aleppo Airport & Roads to City As Anti-Assad Rebels Launch Offensive

In Syria, rebels opposing President Bashar al-Assad have intensified their offensive, breaching the Syrian city of Aleppo. According to the Syrian war monitor, rebels have taken charge of half of Aleppo and more than 50 towns and villages as government forces reportedly followed orders of "safe withdrawal". The offensive is being carried out by an Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by a former Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda. Rebels initiated an offensive on November 27, cutting the highway linking Aleppo to Damascus. According to the UN, the offensive has killed at least 27 people and displaced over 14,000. Syrian authorities have shut down Aleppo airport and roads leading to the city. Amidst the violence, Russian and Syrian warplanes struck rebel enclave around Idlib. The violence violated the truce that Russia and Turkiye broke into in 2020. Turkiye sought a halt in violence, saying the recent clashes escalated regional tensions.