The Syrian army confirms its withdrawal from Aleppo, awaiting reinforcements for a counter-attack

The Syrian army confirmed this Saturday that Islamist rebels, backed by Turkey, have taken control of “a large part” of Aleppo, in northern Syria, where regular forces have suffered “dozens” of casualties and have withdrawn from “temporary” shape, waiting for reinforcements. counterattack.

“The large number of terrorists and the many battle fronts prompted our armed forces to conduct a redeployment operation aimed at strengthening defense lines to absorb the attack, preserve the lives of civilians and soldiers and prepare for a counterattack” , he said in a statement.

Four days ago, the Islamic alliance Levant Liberation Organization –former Nusra Front– and Türkiye-backed factions launched a “large-scale” offensive against several points in Aleppo province and Idlib, considered the last opposition stronghold in Syria.

According to the Syrian Armed Forces, these opposition factions consist of ‘thousands of foreign terroriststhat they have “heavy weapons and a large number of drones,” while stating that in recent days the army has “confronted them along a stretch of more than 100 kilometers to stop their advance.”

The offensive comes as Turkey seeks to repair relations with Damascus, although the Syrian government confirms that Ankara must withdraw its troops from northern Syria and stop supporting opposition groups to move towards the normalization of ties, which have been broken since the start of the war in Syria. Syria 13 years ago.

This operation began on the same day that the ceasefire came into effect in Lebanon, and after the heavy blows that Israel inflicted on the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah, both in that country and in Syria, where the armed movement still has a large presence and one of the most important allies of the Damascus government.