At least 242 people – mostly jihadists and members of the Syrian army, but also many civilians – have been killed in the past two days in clashes in Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city after Damascus.

Jihadists from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS – the former Syrian arm of al-Qaeda) along with organizations allied with it, some close to Turkey, on Wednesday launched an attack on Syrian regime-controlled territory in and around Aleppo province. of – controlled by the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, this is “the most violent conflict” in years in this region.

The jihadists and their allied groups, who have launched a major offensive in northwestern Syria for two days against the forces of the Syrian army, bombarded Aleppo this morning,

Four civilians, including two students, were killed today due to the shelling by “terrorist groups” of the Aleppo university campus, the Syrian news agency SANA reported.

According to the non-governmental organization, “artillery shells targeted a university campus” in Aleppo, “causing panic and injuring students.”

At least 19 civilians were killed yesterday in bombings by the Russian air force, which is operating alongside Syrian government forces.