Syrian regime forces have entered eastern Aleppo and have retaken parts of its largest district, in what appears to be the launch of a long-threatened ground assault to seize control of the area from rebels.
The offensive marks the first time in four years that regime forces have regained control of any significant part of eastern Aleppo, which has become the wretched epicenter of Syria’s brutal five-year civil war.
Islamist rebels have held much of eastern Aleppo since July 2012 and regime forces have besieged the area a number of times, most recently in July this year. The siege has cut off both the rebels and civilians from the outside world as government forces decimated much of the area in airstrikes, backed by Russian military power.
Troops entered the key neighborhood of Masaken Hanano on Saturday, according to several sources, including civilians and the state-controlled news agency SANA.
SANA reported that forces were now in “full control” of the neighborhood, but the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and an activist group on the ground said only parts were in hands of the regime and paramilitary gunmen.
CNN correspondents in the region say it would likely be days before the whole neighborhood is recaptured, as forces will have to clear buildings of potential booby traps and mines.
The entrance into the city’s east marks the collapse of rebel defense lines.
Like much of eastern Aleppo, Masaken Hanano has been under rebel control since July 2012
Syrian forces’ breach of rebel lines claimed casualties both on the fringes and inside eastern Aleppo, with at least 46 people killed and 325 wounded on Saturday, according to the Syria Civil Defense volunteer rescue group, known as the White Helmets, as well as the activist Aleppo Media Center.
The White Helmets also said there were at least 150 airstrikes and 2,500 artillery shells targeting Aleppo and its surrounding countryside on Saturday.