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

einforcement's convoys was attacked with a roadside bomb while it was on its way to the city, killing eight soldiers. [47] On 25 July, a
BBC reporter inside Aleppo confirmed that parts of the city (most notably the eastern suburbs) were under Free Syrian Army
control. [48] Heavy fighting raged at a police station in the city, during which three rebels were killed. The rebels managed to capture
and burn the station in the end. [18][49] Meanwhile, FSA commanders called on rebels to attack the approaching Syrian Army of 2,000
soldiers. Rebels from all over Aleppo governorate were reported to be gathering ammunition and moving towards Aleppo. [49] Two
alleged pro-government Shabiha militiamen, who were captured by the rebels, were executed in the Salaheddin district. [50] On 26 July,
the Free Syrian Army claimed to be in control of 40–50% of Aleppo city. Government forces bombarded rebel-held districts with
fighter planes, helicopters and artillery. [13][51] Two rebel fighters were killed during clashes. [52] Rebels were waiting for the military
assault, most of them expecting to die in the battle. [50] Among the government troop reinforcements that were massing on the outskirts
of Aleppo were also special forces units. [13] The Syrian Army had reportedly amassed 10,000 soldiers around Aleppo and its
countryside. [15] On 27 July, rebels captured a military base in Aleppo's city centre [15] along with 100 soldiers and pro-government
militia. [53] It was reported that 15 people were killed by helicopters and bombs in the al-Fardous district. An activist, Omar, said that
"We woke up to a huge massacre this morning at 7am. Fifteen people were killed as a result of the regime forces' bombs and
helicopters ... I witnessed the massacre myself and helped rescue 25 injured people. I carried bloodied body parts in my own hands.
The bombing stopped at 10am." and the FSA later took control of the Sour al-Hajj roundabout in the district, capturing a five-storey
building which was holding 75 detainees. [54] State TV reported that five rebel pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns
("technicals"), that were heading from the countryside towards Aleppo, were attacked and destroyed by special forces units, killing
and wounding a number of rebel fighters. A rebel commander partially confirmed this by saying opposition forces had skirmished
with the military in the areas surrounding the city. [8] Meanwhile, six soldiers were killed during clashes with a Kurdish rebel force, the
YPG, who attacked them in retaliation after government troops attacked their convoy on the airport road the previous day, killing
three and wounding 11 YPG members. [4]
Syrian Army counter-offensive On the morning of 28 July, the Syrian Army started its offensive to retake rebel-held parts of
Aleppo. Troops attacked the Salaheddin district, which held the largest concentration of rebels. [55] The assault commenced with an
eight-hour artillery bombardment, which started at four in the morning, after which tanks and ground troops moved in. [56] An
estimated 80–100 tanks were seen on the southern outskirts of the city before the attack started. [57][58] The opposition stated that 12
rebels and 10 soldiers were killed during the fighting, that dozens of soldiers were wounded, and that 8–10 tanks and armored vehicles
were destroyed or damaged. They also confirmed that one of the killed rebel fighters was a battalion commander. [18][58] Meanwhile,
rebels from Salaheddin attacked a police station in the city center where 50–100 government troops were holding out for the past three
days, in an attempt to link up with opposition forces in the northeastern Sakhur district six kilometers away. [58][59] By the end of the
day, the rebels had repelled the assault with government troops pulling back and the bombardment resuming. [60] On 29 July, a Turkish
journalist reported that Syrian soldiers defected to the opposition in Aleppo with four tanks. [61] Luke Harding from the Guardian
reported that a rebel commander was pessimistic about the chances of victory for the rebels. [11] In the evening, state media reported
that the Salaheddin district was recaptured by the Army; however, journalists were not able to reach it and confirm the report.
Opposition SOHR activists said that fighting was still ongoing in the district. [62] However, Colonel Abdel Jabbar al-Oqaidi, head of
the Free Syrian Army military council of Aleppo, denied the report and insisted government troops had "not progressed one meter."
"We launched a new assault from Salaheddin during the night, and we destroyed four tanks," the rebel commander told AFP by
phone." Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, said that regime forces were on Monday "just
reaching the outskirts of the [Salaheddin] neighborhood." [63] On 30 July, SOHR said that clashes erupted early morning near the Air
Force intelligence headquarters in Aleppo's Zahraa district. [64] Meanwhile, a general in the FSA said that they had seized a strategic
checkpoint 5 km from Aleppo after 10 hours of fighting. This meant that the FSA controlled a direct route between the Turkish border
and the city of Aleppo. During the battle it was reported that four or five rebels and six soldiers were killed, with an additional 25
soldiers taken prisoner. An AFP journalist on the ground said that the rebels captured seven tanks and armoured vehicles, and
destroyed an eighth vehicle. [65][18] According to another rebel claim, four tanks were captured and two destroyed in the attack on the
checkpoint. [66][67] The BBC reported that thre rebels commander were killed in Aleppo the same day, when one unit was pinned down
by loyalist gunfire. FSA reinforcements manage to breakthrough and relieve their besieged comrades and pull back to safety. [68] On 31
July, Syrian state media reported that nine rebel technicals were destroyed in the Aleppo countryside and 23 rebels were killed in
Aleppo city. Three other rebels were arrested when the army captured a truck loaded with explosive devices. [69] One day earlier, four
other rebel technicals had been destroyed. [70] British Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said that there was evidence government
forces had recaptured some territory in the city, but the opposition forces were still strong. [71] Meanwhile, the rebels were still on the
offensive when they launched an assault before dawn on a major Air Force Intelligence Unit in Aleppo's Zahraa district. Rebels armed
with rocket propelled grenades attacked Aleppo's main military court as well as a police station and a branch of the ruling Baath Party
in the city's southern Salhin district. Fighting continued in the Sallahaddin district. The opposition group, Syrian Observatory,
reported that 40 policemen had been killed when rebels overran two police stations [20] in fighting that also killed eight rebel
fighters. [72] A local Aleppo tribe, al Berri,carried out an assault on a rebel held road, killing 16 rebels. It was reported that they
executed people with their hands behind their backs near the airport. [73] The rebels also summarily executed members of al-Berri
tribe. [74] Later during the day, the Free Syrian Army continued operating in the Salaheddine district, which the government admitted it
did no longer fully control. "The regime has tried for three days to regain Saleheddine, but its attempts have failed and it has suffered
heavy losses in human life, weapons and tanks, and it has been forced to withdraw," said Colonel Abdel-Jabbar al-Oqaidi, head of the
Joint Military Council, one of several rebel groups in Aleppo. He announced the the FSA's primary objective was to secure the city
centre "within days" by advancing district by district towards it, clearing out government forces. He confirmed that opposition troops
controlled the southern and eastern parts of the city or, as he described it, as some 35%-40% of the city. [2][12] State media later claimed
that a rebel leader Ahmad Haj Qasem bin Abdul-Rahman was killed in Aleppo. It was also claimed that the Syrian Army ambushed a
group of 400-500 rebels with 30 technicals in the town of Handarat, north of Aleppo, inflicting "heavy losses" on them and
"destroying their cars". [69] International media has however reported that the Syrian offensive has "stalled", [75] amid Free Syrian Army
gains in surrounding areas such as the capture of the city of Al Bab. [76] Reuters reported that neither the governement or the rebels
were in full control of salaheddin, despite their claims. [77]
Foreign reactions