Syrian rebels conquer large parts of Aleppo as the army withdraws to “regroup”.

BEIRUT – Thousands of Syrian insurgents poured into the city of Aleppo in vehicles with improvised armor and pickup trucks, stationing themselves at landmarks such as the ancient citadel on Saturday, a day after they entered the Syrian city and faced little resistance from government troops, according to residents and fighters.

Witnesses said two airstrikes on the outskirts of the city late Friday targeted insurgent reinforcements and hit nearby residential areas. A war observer said 20 fighters were killed.

Syrian forces said in a statement on Saturday that they had redeployed their troops and were preparing for a counterattack to stem the major attack on Aleppo and save lives. The statement acknowledged that insurgents had entered large parts of the city, but said they had not established bases or checkpoints.

Insurgents were filmed in front of police headquarters and in front of the Citadel, a medieval palace in the old town. They tore down posters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, stepping on some and burning others.

The surprise seizure of power is a major embarrassment for Assad, who managed to regain full control of the city in 2016 after driving insurgents and thousands of civilians out of the city following a grueling military operation in which his troops were backed by Russia, Iran and Iran had driven out allied groups from the eastern quarters.

Aleppo has not been attacked by opposition forces since then. The 2016 battle for Aleppo was a turning point in the war between Syrian government forces and rebel fighters after protests against Assad’s rule in 2011 turned into an all-out war.

The push into Aleppo followed weeks of simmering low-level violence, including government attacks on opposition-held areas. Turkey, which has supported Syrian opposition groups, failed in its diplomatic efforts to prevent the Syrian government’s attacks, which were seen as a violation of an agreement signed by Russia, Turkey and Iran in 2019 to freeze the line of conflict.

The offensive came as Iran-linked groups, most notably Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has supported Syrian government forces since 2015, were preoccupied with their own fighting at home. A ceasefire in Hezbollah’s two-month war with Israel came into force on Wednesday, the day Syrian opposition groups announced their offensive. Israel has also stepped up its attacks against Hezbollah and Iran-linked targets in Syria over the past 70 days.

A witness in Aleppo said government troops were still stationed at the city’s airport and at a military academy, but that most troops had already left the city from the south. Syrian Kurdish troops remained in two quarters.

The redeployment “is a temporary measure,” the military statement said. It added that the military central command and armed forces “will work to ensure the security and peace of all our people in Aleppo.”

Opposition fighter Mohammad Al Abdo spoke from the heart of the city in Saadallah Aljabri Square, saying it was his first return to Aleppo in 13 years, when his older brother was killed at the start of the civil war.

“God willing, the rest of Aleppo province will be liberated from government forces,” he said.

There was little traffic in the city center on Saturday. Opposition fighters fired into the air in celebration, but there were no signs of clashes or the presence of government troops.

Abdulkafi Alhamdo, a teacher who fled Aleppo in 2016 and returned Friday evening after hearing that the insurgents were inside, described “mixed feelings of pain, sadness and old memories.”

“When I entered Aleppo, I kept telling myself that this is impossible! How did this happen?” He said he strolled through the city at night and visited the citadel where the insurgents raised their flags, a large square and the University of Aleppo, as well as the last place he was before was forced to go to the country.

“I walked through the (empty) streets of Aleppo and shouted: ‘People, people of Aleppo!'” “We are your sons,” Alhamdo told the Associated Press in a series of messages.

The insurgents launched their shock offensive in the outskirts of Aleppo and Idlib on Wednesday, seizing control of dozens of villages and towns before entering Aleppo on Friday.

The pro-government newspaper Al-Watan reported air strikes on the outskirts of Aleppo city that targeted rebel supply lines. A video has been released showing a missile landing on a cluster of fighter jets and vehicles on a street lined with trees and buildings.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 20 fighters were killed in the airstrikes. Aleppo residents reported clashes and gunfire. Some fled the fighting.

According to Sham FM Radio, a pro-government station, schools and government offices were closed on Saturday as most people stayed indoors. Bakeries were open. Witnesses said the insurgents had deployed security forces around the city to prevent violence and looting.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the city’s airport had been closed and all flights suspended. Aleppo’s two main public hospitals were reportedly full of patients on Friday, while many private facilities were closed, the Humanitarian Affairs Office said.

The Syrian Kurdish-led government in the east of the country said nearly 3,000 people, most of them students, had arrived after fleeing fighting in Aleppo, home to a sizeable Kurdish population.

State media reported that a number of “terrorists,” including sleeper cells, had infiltrated parts of the city. State media reported that government troops pursued them and arrested several people who posed for photos near city landmarks.

In a morning show on state television on Saturday, commentators said army reinforcements and help from Russia would fend off “terrorist groups” and accused Turkey of supporting the insurgents’ push into Aleppo and Idlib provinces.

Russian state news agency Tass quoted Oleg Ignasyuk, a Russian Defense Ministry official coordinating in Syria, as saying that Russian warplanes on Friday attacked and killed 200 militants who launched the offensive in the northwest. No further details were disclosed.

Deeb writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Albert Aji in Damascus contributed to this report.