The Aleppo offensive (September 2016) is the military operation launched in Aleppo in late September 2016 by the Syrian Army aiming to capture all of the remaining rebel-held parts of the city of Aleppo. Rebel forces controlling East Aleppo at that time were primarily fighters of Fatah Halab.
Air-strikes and initial fighting
Early on 22 September 2016, the Syrian and Russian Air Forces started preparatory air-strikes for the upcoming offensive. Over 40 air-strikes were conducted against five districts throughout the day.[41][42] Mobilization of ground units had also started[41] and by the evening of that day, the ground assault against the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo city was about to begin.[39] At this time, the military officially announced the start of the offensive.[5][43]
The strikes continued for a second day into 23 September,[42] and the explosions were described as "the fiercest the city had faced".[5] Buildings were demolished, a main water station was damaged[44] and neighborhoods were engulfed in flames.[45] Since the start of the bombing campaign, 50 Russian air-strikes had been conducted on the city and 30 in the surrounding areas,[46] in addition to dozens carried out by the Syrian Air Force.[47] During the day, the first Army ground advances took place in the southern outskirts of Aleppo,[48] as the military secured the Ramousah-'Amiriyah highway and its intersection after gains around the Al-Badawi mosque.[49][50] The government advances forced civilians from the area to migrate to other parts of eastern Aleppo.[47] Later, pro-government Palestinian militias also captured parts of the Handarat Camp area of northeastern Aleppo,[2][50] namely the Shaher district.[51] The Handarat Camp had been previously a Palestinian refugee camp.[52] By the end of the day, the Syrian Air Force had conducted more than 150 air-strikes against 30 neighbourhoods in Aleppo. Army artillery bombardment was also conducted.[53]
Early on 24 September, military preparations were being made for the Syrian Army to assault the southern Sheikh Sa'id district.[54] The attack started that morning, and within hours government troops had taken control of several building blocks.[55][56][57] Concurrently, pro-government militias continued to advance in the Handarat Camp area,[58] seizing the eastern entrance to the Camp and leaving only half of it still rebel-held.[51] Shortly after, the Palestinian militias captured the whole Handarat Camp.[59][60][61] In addition, government troops made advances on a third axis, taking control of two dozen building blocks near the historic Aleppo citadel in the city center.[55] Meanwhile, a new wave of air-strikes were conducted throughout Aleppo, and a military official stated the strikes had been targeting an array of rebel fortifications, including tunnels, bunkers and command centers.[62] Following the capture of the Handarat Camp district, the Army shifted their focus to the nearby Kindi Cancer Hospital, which had been converted into a military base by the rebels.[63] Intense clashes took place at the hospital, as the Army also imposed fire control over the nearby Shuqeif Industrial Area.[64] Later that evening, an initial rebel counter-attack against the Handarat Camp was repelled.[65] However, subsequently, pro-government militias withdrew from the district, although they maintained control of the nearby Shaher sector and the Handarat Industrial District, east of the refugee camp.[66][67]
On 25 September, after securing the Shaher district, the Palestinian militias launched a new assault on the Handarat Camp.[68] The camp was heavily hit by air-strikes. The bombing burned many rebel vehicles. Fighting also continued in the southern Sheikh Sa'id district,[69] where the Army was reportedly in control of 25–30 percent of the area.[70]
Army advances in northern and central Aleppo
On 27 September, the Army advanced in the Farafira district of Old Aleppo,[71][72] and captured it.[73][74][75] At the same time, the two largest hospitals in the rebel-held part of the city were hit by an air-strike and artillery fire.[75] The next day, the military slightly advanced in the al-Suweiqa area of Old Aleppo, although some saw the assault on Old Aleppo as a diversionary attack so the Army could take control of the Handarat Camp where fighting continued.[76]
On 29 September, pro-government forces broke through the last rebel defense line in the Handarat Camp[77] and once again took complete control of the district.[78] In order to secure Handarat Camp, government troops continued with their assault and attacked the nearby Shaqayf district,[79] as well as the Kindi Hospital.[80] The next morning, after heavy clashes, pro-government forces captured the Kindi Hospital, thus fortifying their positions at the Handarat Camp[81][82] and coming within two kilometers of the Jandoul roundabout.[83] Soon after, the military started an operation against the rebel-held central district of Suleiman Al-Halabi[84] and advanced, seizing much of its western sector.[12] However, after advancing, government troops withdrew and the rebels recaptured their lost positions.[82][85] During the fighting in Suleiman Al-Halabi, which was described as "back and forth", a water station was bombed, with both sides trading blame.[82] The Army was trying to reach the rebel-held station since it was the main water source for the government-held part of Aleppo.[86] Later in the day, the rebels reentered the Kindi hospital, reigniting fighting for the building,[87] while the Army reportedly captured the northwestern part of the Bustan Al-Basha district.[13] The rebels eventually managed to recapture the hospital.[10]
On 1 October, the Army continued to advance in the Bustan Al-Basha district,[88] although subsequently the rebels claimed to had recaptured the positions they lost in Bustan Al-Basha,[89] while elsewhere government forces captured Tal Shuqayf hill and 16 nearby buildings, establishing fire control over the Aleppo Armament Base and the Shuqayf Industrial Area.[8] Later in the day, the Army managed to establish full-control over the Bakarah Quarries that overlooks the Kindi Hospital.[10] The next day, the Army seized the Shuqayf Industrial area,[9] the Jandoul beltway[90] and the Kindi Hospital.[11][91] During the Army's gains at Shuqayf, the Kurdish YPG militia also advanced against the rebels at the Jandoul roundabout.[92] Meanwhile, Army advances in Bustan Al-Basha continued,[93] with government forces reaching the outskirts of the al-Heluk district,[94] while a new Army attack on the Suleiman Al-Halabi water station was again repelled.[95] Elsewhere, the largest hospital in the rebel part of the city, known as M10, was once again bombed.[96] At this point, the Army called on the rebels to withdraw from Aleppo, offering them safe passage and aid supplies.[11]
On 3 October, government forces attacked the Awijah district[97] and reportedly seized a quarter of the area before sundown, while the Army established fire control over the Jandoul roundabout.[98] The same day, the M10 hospital was bombed for the third time[99] and completely destroyed.[100] On 4 October, the rebels claimed an Army assault on the southern Sheikh Sa'id district was repelled,[101] while a government source stated they had reached a bridge in the northwestern part of the district.[102] Meanwhile, the military advanced in the city center, capturing several high-rise buildings,[103] as well as in the factories area of the northern Awijah district.[104] For the first time in four years, Syrian Army tanks crossed the frontline in Aleppo.[105]
On 5 October, Army advances continued in the northern district of Awijah and the southern district of Al-Amiriyah, while also attempting to capture the strategic Jandoul roundabout.[106][15]
Reactions and analysis
Reuters and the The Los Angeles Times described the offensive to be possibly a turning point in the war.[107][108]
At the United Nations, Samantha Power accused Russia of "barbarism" on the count of its air-strikes during the offensive,[109] while the United Kingdom and France stated Russia was involved in war crimes.[110] According to the Los Angeles Times and unnamed "longtime observers" of the Syrian conflict, the Syrian and Russian bombardments in the week of 22–28 September were "marked by unparalleled savagery and suffering".
