On Friday, a statement posted on a rebel-affiliated channel said: “Our forces have begun entering the city of Aleppo.”
Videos verified by the BBC show armed men running in a street about seven kilometres (4.3 miles) from Aleppo’s medieval citadel in the centre of the city.
Another clip verified by the BBC showed large groups of people carrying luggage walking away from an area near Aleppo University. That video was recorded 3km away from a location where HTS-affiliated media claim rebel forces have entered the city.
Aleppo resident Sarmad told AFP he could hear “the sounds of missiles and artillery shelling around the clock”.
“We’re scared that war will break out and we’ll be displaced from our homes again,” the 51-year-old said.
The UN’s deputy regional humanitarian co-ordinator for Syria, David Carden, said he was deeply alarmed by the impact of the escalating hostilities on civilians.
“Relentless attacks over the past three days have claimed the lives of at least 27 civilians, including children as young as eight years old”, he said.
Fighting in Idlib had largely wound down since 2020, when Turkey and Russia, Syria’s key ally, brokered a ceasefire to halt a push by the government to retake the province.
But on Wednesday HTS and its allies said they had launched their offensive to “deter aggression”, accusing the government and allied militias of escalation in the region.
Analysts say one reason they advanced so quickly is because Syria’s allies, Iran and Hezbollah, have been weakened by Israeli attacks in the region.
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