Fighting has engulfed Syria – 13 years after the start of the Civil War – as a new Jihadist-led coalition is attempting to overthrow president Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The balance of power appears to be shifting in Aleppo, where the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has seized the city, including its airport, and have since entered the citied of Hama and Idlib.
Syrian soldiers loyal to Assad were trying to repel them, while Russia has unleashed ‘a series of strikes’ on the northwest, a day after hitting Aleppo for the first time since 2016.
This is the most significant fighting in Syria’s civil war in recent years – and huge embarrassment for the president who vowed to punish the attackers.
More than 370 people, including at least 20 civilians, have been killed since Wednesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
Metro has prepared an explainer with everything you need to know about the ongoing fighting.
Syria’s 13-year war, one of the most complex and devastating conflicts of the 21st century, has seen a resurgence of violence.
It highlights the enduring fractures that have kept the country divided since 2011.
The war started as an uprising at the height of the Arab Spring, with riots against Assad’s authoritarian regime.
These demonstrations were met with deadly crackdowns, leading to the formation of armed opposition groups and plunging Syria into a full-scale civil war.
Since then, Assad has been at war with opposition forces resulting in the killing of more than 300,000 people and sending nearly six million refugees out of the country.
Over time, the conflict drew in global powers, including Russia, Iran, Turkey, and the US, each backing different sides.
In 2020, Russia and Turkey signed off on a ceasefire in the last remaining opposition-held province, Idlib, agreeing to establish a security corridor with joint patrols.
There have been no major flare-ups since then but Syria’s government has never regained all of its territory.
The offensive began on Wednesday, after militants formed a new coalition called the ‘Military Operations Command,’ sweeping through villages in the outskirts of Aleppo.
The primary force leading the charge is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), once affiliated with terror group al-Qaida.
Its driving force has been put down as establishing Islamic rule in Syria by toppling the current regime.
HTS traces its beginnings to the outset of the civil war and has remained a dangerous opposition force throughout.
Today, it remains under the leadership of Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, but the group’s goals have shifted somewhat since announcing its independence from al-Qaeda.
The United Nations have long designated the opposition group leading the ongoing attempted coup as a terrorist group.
Russian fighter jets have been fighting Assad’s battle from the skies, hitting both civilians and militants in both Aleppo and in Idlib provinces.
Vladimir Putin has been a staunch supporter of the Assad regime since the early years of the war, providing military, political, and economic backing.
In 2015, the Kremlin launched a significant intervention, striking opposition groups, which turned the tide of the war in the Syrian president’s favor.
Putin’s support is driven by strategic interests. In this way he can maintain the naval base in Tartus, preserving influence in the Middle East.
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