Syrian Civil War 2011-2012 - Societa italiana di storia militare

Free Syrian Army
Units [4]
Commanders and leaders
Abdel Jabbar al-Oqaidi [6]
(Salaheddine district) [7]
Units involved
Popular Protection
Abu Abdu Bakri
18 battalions [8] Brigade of Unification [9] Sham
Falcons [10]
Strength
Syrian government Syrian Army Syrian Police Syrian
Air Force Shabiha Al-Berri clan [5]
Unknown
Unknown
2,000–4,000 fighters [11][12][13] 10,000 soldiers (1,500 Shabiha; including the
12,000 foreign
fighters (Syrian state media claims) [14] countryside) [15][11]
100 tanks [11] 400 armored personnel carriers [11]
Casualties and losses
100 killed, 13+ technicals destroyed [16] 80 killed, [17] 125 captured, 12–15 AFVs destroyed and 4–7
captured
142 civilians killed [18][19][20]
The Battle of Aleppo (described by the Syrian government as the mother of all battles), [21] is an ongoing military confrontation in
Aleppo, Syria between the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian military. The battle began on 19 July 2012 as a part of the Syrian civil
war. Clashes began with an offensive by the Free Syrian Army against the city, which is the largest in Syria and holds great strategic
and economic importance. [22]
Background Large demonstrations against the government took place in Aleppo on 20 July, [23] and were fired upon by Syrian army
soldiers. [24] North of Aleppo city, the Free Syrian Army had already established control of several cities and towns, including Tal
Rifaat, Azaz and Al-Bab. The FSA had previously reached within nine miles of Aleppo. The battle began when dozens of FSA rebels
penetrated deep inside the city. Residents had painted walls with the pre-Ba'athist flag, the symbol of the revolution. [22]
Battle
Rebel attack Violent clashes began on 19 July in several Aleppo districts. [25] On 20 July, according to a report from Bloomberg news,
the military shelled the city, a Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) spokesperson said in an e-mail that 190 civilians and at
least 43 Syrian soldiers were killed and a Local Coordination Committee (LCCs) spokesperson added that "dozens of missiles fell in
the city, and many houses were destroyed and flattened." Five explosions were heard in Aleppo early the next morning. [26] On 21 July,
fighting was still raging in the southwestern Salaheddine district, with the army trying to storm it with troops and armored vehicles.
Meanwhile clashes started in the poorer, tribal northeastern district of al-Sakhour. Hundreds of families were forced to flee as the
commercial city had been slowly turned into a war zone. [27] Violent clashes also took place in the northeastern Haydariya area in
Aleppo. [28] The head of intelligence in Aleppo, Major General Mohamed Muflih, reportedly defected to the opposition and went to
Turkey. [29][30] On 22 July, the fourth day of major fighting in Aleppo, the Syrian army started to push into the Salaheddine district,
which had been in rebel hands for two days, with armoured vehicles. [31] Battles took place near the main intelligence headquarters of
Aleppo. [32] It was reported that rebels controlled three neighbourhoods in Aleppo. The al-Zabadia police station and the immigration
and passport building in Aleppo saw clashes as well as the areas of Saif al-Dawla, al-Jameeliya and al-Meridian. [29] It was further
reported that the FSA had set up checkpoints in the city. A brigadier general defected inside Aleppo. According to The Guardian UK,
General Adelnasser Ferzat made a video address in fluent Russian to Russia, urging Russia to stop backing Assad and back "freedom"
and the rebels' side. [22] On 23 July, renewed fighting in Aleppo was reported, with rebel fighters attacking the main TV station of the
city. The Free Syrian Army aired a live steam video on Al Jazeera showing their fighters moving freely in the Tareeq al-Bab district
of Aleppo city. [33] 33 people were reportedly killed in the city in the previous two days. [34] State media reported that dozens of rebels
had been killed by the Syrian Army north of Aleppo, among them Mahmoud al-Ashqar, leader of a rebel group. [35] A rebel
commander inside Aleppo told Al-Jazeera via Skype that his fighters had captured five districts in the city, but that these districts
were still being heavily shelled by artillery and attack helicopters. [36] During the night, eight people were reported killed at Aleppo
central prison. The Syrian National Council said that security forces "opened fire with bullets and tear gas on the detainees at Aleppo
central prison in response to a peaceful sit-in organised by prisoners because of the great injustice of which they are victims," and that
a fire broke out at the prison. [37] Another report said that 15 prisoners were killed and over 40 were injured, according to Al Arabiya
who were citing activists at the Aleppo Revolution Council. Furthermore, the group also said that security forces refused to hand over
the dead bodies to relatives and that heavy clashes between the FSA and security forces took place around the prison after the
killings. [38]
City centre fighting and Army reinforcements sent On 24 July, FSA fighters began a new offensive in Aleppo, aimed at taking the
city centre. Heavy clashes broke out near the gates of the Old city between rebel fighters and government forces. [39] Also, a resident of
the Aleppo suburb of al-Sahkour said that the FSA had set up checkpoints in the district. [40] In addition, Al-Arabiya reported about
clashes between rebels and army soldiers in the Aleppo neighborhood of Al-Arqoub. [41] The Sham news network said that 30 security
force members were killed or injured and three tanks destroyed in a neighbourhood of Aleppo the previous day. [42] Later during the
day, for the first time since the beginning of the civil war in Syria, Syrian war planes bombed Aleppo (with videos showing L-39
attack aircraft over the city). The coordinated attack started with a 10-minute artillery attack on the eastern Tariq al-Bab district, after
which, fighter jets hit rebel positions, reportedly leaving dozens of fighters and civilians dead. [43] Government soldiers and rebels were
still engaged in heavy fighting near the Old city, while the Free Syrian Army stated it had control of at least six districts of Aleppo, a
claim partially supported by a BBC journalist outside Aleppo. [44] Two rebels were reported killed during the day. [45] Opposition
activists stated that thousands of government troop reinforcements were moving from Idlib toward Aleppo. [46] One of the