Syrian Rebels Launch Counter-Offensive as Aleppo Province Falls

Syrian military controls growing amount of territory after recent fighting

Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have announced another new counter-offensive in Aleppo Province this weekend, another bid to try to reclaim territory that has fallen in recent weeks of fighting with the Syrian Army.

Syria’s offensive initially targeted al-Qaeda, but when Turkey got involved it quickly included rebels in Aleppo as well. This has resulted in virtually the whole of Aleppo Province falling to the Syrian government.

Aleppo and Idlib represent most of the rest of rebel-held Syria at this point in the war, and with Syria now reclaiming the main highway, they seem on the verge of claiming control of that area.

Turkey is desperate to reverse that trend, and while their main track is threatening Russia, they have also pumped mortars and rockets into rebel groups to try to give them an advantage in their new counter-offensive.



Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.