In a shock offensive, insurgents take control of Aleppo for first time since 2016

David L. Cardenamerican diplomat

We're deeply alarmed by the situation unfolding in northwest Syria."

David Carden, UN Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, said

We are getting reports of children with multiple shrapnel wounds from the attacks,

he added

The regime’s lines of defence have crumbled, I think they were taken aback. No one anticipated how fast the rebels would reach towards the edge of Aleppo,

said Dareen Khalifa, of the International Crisis Group

The Russians are distracted in Ukraine. They are less invested politically if not military in Syria,

she said

It’s difficult to tell what the result of this offensive is going to be,

she said

The highway has now been put out of service, after it was reopened by government forces years ago,

said the monitor, which has a network of sources inside Syria

Hezbollah was the main force in the government’s control of the city,

said Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Observatory, the war monitor

We are for the government of Syria to quickly restore order in this district and restore the constitutional order,

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said

This operation aims to repel the sources of fire of the criminal enemy from the frontlines."

At a press conference earlier this week, HTS’ Mohamed Bashir said

In the matter of about 10 hours, a wide spectrum of armed opposition groups have managed to get to within about four or five kilometers now of Aleppo city, which is of gigantic significance,

Charles Lister, the director of Middle East Institute’s Syria and counterterrorism programs, said on Wednesday, according to the New York Times

Years ago, an offense of this size would have been pushed back by the regime,

he said,

What was initially planned as a limited operation expanded as regime forces began fleeing their positions,

they said

It is of utmost importance for Turkey that yet another and greater instability is avoided and civilians are not harmed,

it said

Russian airstrikes on the Aleppo countryside killed 19 civilians on Thursday,

said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Observatory, adding

Ankara is sending a message to both Damascus and Moscow to back down from their military efforts in northwest Syria,

With some Turkey-backed factions joining the offensive ... he said

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions cut off the Damascus-Aleppo international M5 highway ... in addition to controlling the junction between the M4 and M5 highways,

the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said

Our forces are confronting the terrorist organizations with different power and in collaboration with friendly forces to ensure the situation returns to how it was,

the army statement said

Despite harsh weather and rugged terrain, Turkish forces remain committed to destroying terrorism at its source until all terror dens are destroyed and the last terrorist is neutralized,

the ministry said

We are closely following the mobilization initiated by some local groups in the region and the related developments. We have taken all kinds of precautions for our troops and continue to do so,

sources within the Defense Ministry told local media

We are assessing that there may be caves, shelters and depots in the region that have not yet been entered,

they said