Rebel forces that have seized much of Aleppo have declared a 24-hour curfew that will begin at 5pm local time this Saturday (30).
The rebels’ Military Operations Command said the measure aims to ensure “the safety of the city’s residents and protect public and private property against tampering or damage.”
This Saturday, there was a clash between members of the rebel alliance and Kurdish fighters inside the city, according to video analyzed by CNN.
Part of the rebel coalition says it now intends to launch an offensive against Kurdish groups that control parts of the northern province of Aleppo.
Death of Syrian soldiers
The Syrian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that dozens of soldiers were killed in the offensive launched by rebels in Aleppo.
In a statement, the ministry said that “armed terrorist groups affiliated with the so-called Nusra Front, supported by thousands of foreign fighters” launched a large-scale attack from multiple fronts in Aleppo and Idlib.
The ministry highlighted that “dozens of our brave soldiers were martyred and others were injured.”
Understand the conflict in Syria
Syria’s civil war began during the Arab Spring in 2011, when the regime of Bashar al-Assad suppressed a pro-democracy uprising.
The country was plunged into full-scale conflict when a rebel force was formed, known as the Free Syrian Army, to fight government troops.
Furthermore, the Islamic State, a terrorist group, also managed to gain a foothold in the country and came to control 70% of Syrian territory.
Fighting escalated as other regional actors and world powers — from Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United States to Russia — joined in, escalating the country’s war into what some observers described as a “proxy war.”
Russia has allied with Bashar al-Assad’s government to fight the Islamic State and rebels, while the United States has led an international coalition to repel the terrorist group.
After a ceasefire agreement in 2020, the conflict remained largely “dormant”, with minor clashes between the rebels and the Assad regime.
More than 300,000 civilians have been killed in more than a decade of war, according to the UN, and millions of people have been displaced across the region.
This content was originally published in Conflict in Syria: Rebels announce 24-hour curfew in Aleppo on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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