Russian jets bomb Aleppo after rebels storm Syrian city
Government forces were caught off guard when the rebels entered Syria's second largest city on Friday, as ITV News' Fred Dimbleby reports
Russian jets have launched air strikes at Syrian rebels who have taken control of large parts of Aleppo after facing little resistance from government troops.
Thousands of fighters, who oppose the regime of Bashar Al Assad, entered Syria's second largest city on Friday in armoured vehicles and pick-up trucks.
Russian warplanes hit rebel supply lines overnight on the edge of the city, killing 20 fighters, according to monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Syria's armed forces said they had withdrawn their troops to prepare for a counterattack after acknowledging that rebels had entered large parts of the city.
Insurgents were filmed outside police headquarters, in the city centre, and outside the Aleppo citadel. They tore down posters of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, stepping on some and burning others.
Schools and government offices were closed Saturday as most people stayed indoors, according to a pro-government radio station.
The surprise takeover is a huge embarrassment for Assad, who managed to regain total control of the city in 2016 after a gruelling military campaign in which his forces were backed by Russia, Iran and its allied groups.
In social media posts, the insurgents were pictured outside of Aleppo citadel, the medieval palace in the old city centre.
State media reported that a number of “terrorists" have infiltrated parts of the city.
A state TV morning show reported that reinforcements and Russia’s assistance will repel the “terrorist groups,” blaming Turkey for supporting the insurgents’ push into Aleppo and Idlib provinces.
An opposition fighter in the centre of the city said “God willing, the rest of Aleppo province will be liberated" from government forces.
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Russia’s state news agency reported that Russian warplanes targeted and killed 200 militants who launched the offensive in the northwest on Friday. It provided no further details.
The 2016 battle for Aleppo was a turning point in the war between Syrian government forces and rebel fighters after 2011 protests against President Bashar Assad’s rule turned into an all-out war.
Russia and Iran and its allied groups helped Syrian government forces reclaim control of the city that year after a gruelling military campaign and a siege that lasted for weeks.
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