In Aleppo Countryside, the Opposition Turns the Tables on the Syrian Regime

For the first time in years, Syrian opposition groups have launched a significant military operation against regime forces, indicating a potential strategy shift for the diminished opposition

The Aleppo countryside in Syria is witnessing a new military development as Syrian opposition factions and allied groups launched a surprise attack on positions held by Iranian forces and Syrian regime troops.

The battles mark the first significant military operations between the opposition and the regime in northern Syria since the March 2020 cease-fire.

In the early hours of Wednesday, opposition factions including the Sunni Islamist group Tahrir al-Sham launched the battles, ultimately capturing multiple villages and towns in the western Aleppo countryside. Among the spoils was the Syrian Army’s 46th Regiment military base, which had been subjected to near-daily shelling since the regime captured it in February 2020.

At the time of this report, the factions are still engaged in battle.

Special military sources told The Media Line that the opposition’s factions captured approximately 10 individuals, including Russian personnel, and killed or injured dozens more.

The Media Line obtained videos and photos showing 10 drones captured by the opposition groups, captured Syrian soldiers, and other captured fighters who opposition members identified as Russians.

One military source from the Sham Legion, an alliance of Sunni Islamist rebel groups, told The Media Line that several factions are participating in the operation, codenamed “Deter the Aggression.” Participating groups include Tahrir al-Sham, Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Izza, the National Front for Liberation, the 50th Brigade of the Syrian National Army, and the Levant Front.

The source, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the factions had captured approximately 25 military and civilian locations in the western Aleppo countryside, including Qubtan al-Jabal, Anjarah, Urm al-Sughra, Awijil, Sheikh Aqil, and Kafr Basin.

The town of Awijil in the Aleppo Governorate after the opposition took control of it. (Rizik Alabi/The Media Line)

These battles mark one of the most significant offensives in recent years, breaking a period of relative stagnation in Syria’s civil conflict. The front lines have remained largely static since President Bashar Assad’s government regained control of most of the country, bolstered by Russian military support. The renewed rebel offensive may indicate a shift in strategy aimed at increasing pressure on Assad’s forces in Aleppo, a region of critical strategic importance.

While Assad’s government has retained control over much of Syria, this flare-up underscores the ongoing volatility of the conflict. Analysts suggest that the return of large-scale operations by opposition forces could reignite broader hostilities in areas that had seen a semblance of stability.

More than 75 regime forces were killed in the battles, including officers. Opposition forces captured over 10 regime personnel and seized five tanks, an armored vehicle, and a missile storage depot.

The opposition factions have not yet disclosed their casualty numbers.

Another source close to the opposition factions told The Media Line that more than 10 regime officers were killed in the ongoing clashes.

Activists on social media shared photos suggesting that some of the fighters who were killed were affiliated with Hezbollah—photos show Lebanese currency in their clothes and images of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah they had brought to battle.

The battles have triggered displacement in both opposition-held areas of the Idlib and Aleppo countrysides and regime-held parts of Aleppo city, especially as fighting approaches the city’s outskirts. Opposition factions are now less than 6 miles away from Aleppo city.

Over 6 million civilians live in the Idlib and Aleppo countrysides under the control of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, Tahrir al-Sham, and other opposition factions. These areas are considered Syria’s last opposition strongholds.

Khaled Mahmoud, a civilian from Aleppo, reported that residents of several of the city’s neighborhoods had moved deeper into the city’s interior, fearing clashes and civilian casualties in the event of opposition advances.

Speaking to The Media Line, Mahmoud highlighted the dire humanitarian situation resulting from the displacement, made worse by harsh conditions and cold weather.

Areas in the western Aleppo countryside and Idlib saw similar displacement to safer locations within northern Syria. According to the Response Coordinators Team, a group associated with the opposition, over 8,735 families have fled from northwestern Syria.

As clashes intensified in the Aleppo countryside, Syrian regime forces and Russian aircraft bombed parts of Idlib. Cluster munitions hit a camp in the northern countryside, killing a child and injuring three children and two women. Two additional people were injured in the town of Sarmin, east of Idlib.

A source from the Syrian Civil Defense, the humanitarian group also known as the White Helmets, told The Media Line that shelling targeted the industrial zone in Idlib, the village of Qaminas to the east, the village of Kansafra to the south, and the town of Sarmada in the northern countryside.

School and university classes in Idlib were suspended following the attacks, and conferences and similar events were canceled.