In a significant development, Islamist insurgents stormed Aleppo, Syria, where they toppled a statue of President Bashar al-Assad's brother, Bassel al-Assad. The insurgents faced little resistance from government forces, prompting Russian intervention with air strikes.
This is the dramatic moment Islamist insurgents in Syria toppled a statue of President Bashar al-Assad's brother after they stormed Aleppo in what is a major setback for the government.
Insurgents were filmed outside police headquarters, in the city center, and outside the Aleppo Citadel.In footage posted to X, rebels can be seen tearing down the statue of the president's brother Bassel al-Assad, who died in a car crash in 1994. As the figure topples over and smashes onto the hard floor, rebels can be heard cheering and chanting as they fire gunshots into the airBassel al-Assad was the first-born son of former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and the older brother of current president Bashar. He was expected to succeed his father as Syrian leader but he died in a January 1994 car crash in Damascus.
The surprise takeover is a huge embarrassment for al-Assad, who managed to regain total control of the city in 2016, after expelling rebels and thousands of civilians from its eastern neighborhoods following a grueling military campaign in which his forces were backed by Russia, Iran and its allied groups.The 2016 battle for Aleppo was a turning point in the war between Syrian government forces and rebel fighters after 2011 protests against al-Assad's rule turned into an all-out war.
Anti-government fighters celebrate in a street in Maaret al-Numan in Syria's northwestern Idlib province on November 30 Turkey, which has backed Syrian opposition groups, failed in its diplomatic efforts to prevent the Syrian government attacks, which were seen as a violation of a 2019 agreement sponsored by Russia, Turkey and Iran to freeze the line of the conflict.
The opposition fighters have said the campaign was in response to stepped-up strikes in recent weeks against civilians by the Russian and Syrian air forces on areas of Idlib province, and to preempt any attacks by the Syrian army. Anti-government fighters brandish their guns as they ride a vehicle in Syria's northern city of AleppoA Syrian opposition fighter takes a picture of a comrade stepping on a portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo, early SaturdayOn Saturday, Syrian rebels had taken control of large parts of the city of Aleppo.
The offensive came as Iran-linked groups, primarily Lebanon's Hezbollah, which has backed Syrian government forces since 2015, have been preoccupied with their own battles at home. More than 300 people have been killed since fighting broke out on Wednesday, according to a war monitor.
Syria Aleppo Bashar Al-Assad Bassel Al-Assad Insurgents Russia Air Strikes
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