Armed Syrian rebels say they have entered Aleppo, the first time rebels have entered the country’s second-largest city since government forces recaptured it in 2016.
Rebel forces launched a surprise attack this week, capturing several villages and reigniting a conflict that had been largely static for years.
“Our forces have started to enter the city of Aleppo,” said a statement from the newly formed rebel coalition, the Military Operations Command.
THE CNN was unable to independently verify the claim and contacted the Syrian government for comment.
The Syrian military said it was facing a “major attack” launched by “terrorist organizations” armed with heavy weaponry and drones.
The “Military Operations Command” rebels previously said they took control of the Syrian government’s Military Scientific Research Center on the outskirts of the city of Aleppo after “intense clashes with regime forces and Iranian militias.”
Earlier that day, an artillery shell hit Aleppo University student housing, killing four people, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA, which blamed opposition factions for the attack.
Rebel groups spokesman Hassan Abdulghani refuted the Syrian government’s accusations as “baseless lies”.
An official at the University of Aleppo, speaking anonymously for security reasons, confirmed that an artillery shell hit the second floor of a dormitory with students inside.
A video circulating on social media, geolocated by CNN shows young men running out of a dormitory on the Aleppo University campus and carrying an injured individual.
On Thursday (28), at least 15 civilians, including six children and two women, were killed and another 36 injured in airstrikes and shelling in rebel-held areas of Aleppo and the interior of Idlib, according to the White Helmets, a volunteer rescue group.
Iranian state media said an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) brigadier general Kioumars Pourhashemi was also killed in the city.
In a call with his Syrian counterpart to discuss the escalation, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States and Israel of “reactivating” the rebels and “stressed Iran’s continued support” for the Syrian government and army. .
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called on Syrian authorities to “quickly restore order in this area and restore constitutional order.”
Both Iran and Russia are important allies of Syria.
This content was originally published in Armed rebels claim to have entered Aleppo, the second largest city in Syria on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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