Rebels in Syria Reach Outskirts of Aleppo, in Biggest Advance in Years, Monitor Says

Syrian rebels reached the outskirts of the major city of Aleppo on Friday, according to the fighters and a war monitor, raising fears that the nation’s civil war is reigniting with an intensity not seen in years.

Syrian government forces and their Russian allies launched intense airstrikes on several opposition-held towns and cities on Friday, including 23 strikes on the city of Idlib, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group.

The rebels launched their offensive this week, in the most serious challenge to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria in years. It comes as his military allies in Iran and Hezbollah have been significantly weakened by their conflicts in Israel, and as Russia is focused on its war in Ukraine.

The civil war — which displaced about half of the country’s population and sent millions of refugees flooding into neighboring countries like Turkey and Lebanon — had been quiet. But on Wednesday, the rebel fighters from an array of armed opposition factions launched a surprise offensive against the government in the northwestern province of Aleppo.

It is the most significant rebel advance in years, according to the Observatory.

The anti-government fighters managed on Friday to breach three neighborhoods at the edge of Aleppo after detonating two car bombs targeting government soldiers, according to the rebels and the Observatory. The monitoring group did not provide further details on the car bombings, and it was not immediately clear whether there were casualties.

The rebels posted a map on the Telegram messaging app along with evacuation warnings to civilians in the city of Aleppo, urging people to move to eastern neighborhoods “for your safety.”