Aleppo was the scene of fierce fighting between 2012 and 2016 when the Syrian civil war was at its height. Rebel groups were forced out as forces supporting President Bashar al-Assad were able to capture the country's second city, with the help of Russia and its air force. The Idlib region in the north-west, with a population of about 5 million, remained outside Assad's grip, however. An intervention by Turkey in 2020, propped up the position of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a jihadist Sunni group.
A ceasefire had held since March 2020, but Assad's backers have been weakened, and with it the Syrian regime. An attack that began on Wednesday forced a hurried retreat by government forces and by Saturday the city appeared to be in rebel hands, a reminder of the elementary military effectiveness of surprise.
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