Dramatic moment Islamist rebels topple statue of Bashar Al Assad’s brother as they storm Aleppo in Syrian president’s biggest crisis in years
This is the dramatic moment Islamist insurgents in Syria toppled a statue of President Bashar Al Assad’s brother as they stormed Aleppo, in a major setback for the government.
Thousands of Syrian insurgents spread out in Aleppo in vehicles with makeshift armor and pickup trucks. They were deployed Saturday at monuments such as the ancient citadel, a day after entering Syria’s largest city and encountering little resistance from government forces, residents and fighters said.
The Syrian armed forces said in a statement on Saturday that to deal with the major attack on Aleppo and save lives, they have redeployed and are preparing for a counter-attack.
The statement acknowledged that insurgents have invaded large parts of the city but have not established any bases or checkpoints.
Insurgents were filmed outside police headquarters, in the city center and outside Aleppo’s citadel.
They destroyed posters of Syrian President Bashar Assad, trampling on some and burning others.
Footage posted on
The video shows insurgents managing to snatch the statue by tying it to a rope tied to a moving truck.
Footage captures the dramatic moment Islamist rebels in Syria toppled a statue of President Bashar Al Assad’s brother as they stormed Aleppo
The video shows insurgents managing to snatch the statue by tying it to a rope tied to a moving truck
As the figure falls over and lands on the hard floor, you can hear the rebels cheering and chanting as they fire gunshots into the air.
As the figure falls over and lands on the hard floor, you can hear the rebels cheering and chanting as they fire gunshots into the air.
Passing cars join in the celebration while honking their horns.
Other videos documenting the uprising have also been shared online.
One clip shows men dressed in camouflage, holding weapons, pulling down the Syrian flag from a monument in Aleppo.
The surprise takeover is a huge embarrassment for Assad, who managed to regain total control of the city in 2016 after driving out rebels and thousands of civilians from eastern neighborhoods following a grueling military campaign in which his forces were backed by Russia , Iran and its neighboring countries. allied groups.
Aleppo has not been attacked by opposition forces since then.
The 2016 battle for Aleppo was a turning point in the war between Syrian government forces and rebel fighters, after protests against Assad’s rule turned into all-out war in 2011.
The attack on Aleppo followed weeks of simmering low-level violence, including government attacks on opposition-held areas.
Anti-government fighters prepare to topple the equestrian statue of Bassel-al-Assad, the eldest son of the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, who died in a car accident in 1994, in central Aleppo on November 30, 2024
Anti-government fighters celebrate on a street in Maaret al-Numan in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib on November 30
Anti-government fighters celebrate in Aleppo after jihadists and their allies entered the northern Syrian city
An anti-government fighter tears up a portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo
An anti-government fighter raises an opposition flag in front of Aleppo’s historic citadel
Turkey, which has backed Syrian opposition groups, failed in its diplomatic efforts to prevent the Syrian government’s attacks, which were seen as a violation of a 2019 agreement sponsored by Russia, Turkey and Iran to level the line in the conflict. freeze.
The offensive came as Iranian-affiliated groups, especially the Lebanese Hezbollah, which has supported Syrian government forces since 2015, were engaged in their own fighting at home.
A ceasefire in Hezbollah’s two-month war with Israel came into effect on Wednesday, the day Syrian opposition factions announced their offensive.
Israel has also escalated its attacks on Hezbollah and Iran-linked targets in Syria over the past 70 days.
Witnesses said two airstrikes on the outskirts of the city late Friday targeted insurgent strongpoints and hit near residential areas. Twenty fighters were killed, according to a war monitor.
At least 277 people, including 28 civilians, have been killed in the fighting since the offensive began on Wednesday.
It comes as the Syrian army today said dozens of soldiers had been killed.
