International diplomatic alarm has been sounded over the third flashpoint in the Middle East, in Syria, before a ceasefire is firmly established in southern Lebanon, and while bloody conflict in Gaza continues. The advance of the jihadist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) scares the international community, fears of a new wave of refugees exist, while Ankara’s role is considered controversial.

In fact, footage released by a group linked to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham shows jihadist fighters at Aleppo International Airport.

In the video, a man identified as a military commander named “Abu Malik al-Shami” addresses the camera in front of the main terminal. Other fighters can be seen behind him.

BBC Verify confirmed the location. Earlier on Saturday, a video on social media showed a group of gunmen at the airport, although it was unclear which group they were from.

The capture of the airport is important not only for its strategic value, but also as an indication of how far the rebels have come into the city since entering yesterday evening.

However, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad declared that his country is able to “defeat the terrorists”.

The position of Rebels in Aleppo is shown on this map, with known positions marked in red.

“Ankara is not involved,” Fidan insists

The developments in Syria after the capture of Aleppo by jihadists of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham were discussed in telephone communications held by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan with the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Najib Mikati, and the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani, as well as with the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov.

The Russian foreign minister also had a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araktsi, who will visit Ankara on Monday.

Russia, Turkey, Iran, along with Damascus have signed the Astana agreement on the status of the Idlib region, which is the base of the HTS jihadists who captured Aleppo.

The Turkish foreign minister insisted, speaking to MPs from western and southern Turkey, that Ankara was not involved in the clashes in Aleppo, assured that necessary measures would be taken against the possibility of a new refugee wave and that Turkey would not act in a way which will cause a refugee flow.

He also claimed that if the United States cut off its support for the Kurdish forces, they would cease to exist within three twenty-four hours.

During the meeting, which was closed to the press, Hakan Fidan stated that “Turkey will never allow the terrorist structure (he means the de facto autonomous Kurdish entity in northern Syria) to turn into a state and that this determination of Turkey is known to all its interlocutors”.

Also, according to the Turkiye newspaper, the Turkish foreign minister reportedly told MPs: “In this geography, beyond the existing situation, a new entity or a new state-building process is not possible. Look at Northern Iraq. There are federations, autonomies, local organizations, but nothing could be done. Our ultimate goal is to ensure the territorial integrity of Syria. Turkey is also the protector of the Kurds on the other side of the border.”

Turkey’s foreign ministry said on Friday that clashes between rebels and government forces had resulted in an unwanted escalation of tension.

In a statement, spokesman Onsu Keseli noted that “preventing further instability in the region is Turkey’s priority,” adding that “Ankara had warned that the recent attacks in Idlib undermined the spirit and implementation of the de-escalation agreements.”

Syrian opposition sources in contact with Turkish intelligence said however that Turkey, which backs the rebels, gave the “green light” to the attack.

xalepi syria

The Syrian army has admitted a jihadist advance in Aleppo

The Syrian army said on Saturday that dozens of its soldiers had been killed in a major offensive by rebels who stormed the northwestern city of Aleppo, forcing the army to redeploy in the biggest challenge to President Bashar al-Assad’s rule in years.

The fighting is igniting on the Syrian front as the wider Middle East region is rocked by wars in Gaza and Lebanon, where a truce between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday.

The jihadist group’s surprise attack shook the front lines in the civil war, which have been largely frozen since 2020, reigniting fighting in a corner of the fractured country near the Turkish border. Assad’s army says it is preparing a counter-offensive to restore state power.

Acknowledging the rebel advance, the Syrian army command said the rebels had entered large parts of Aleppo, which has been under full government control since Russian and Iranian-backed government forces drove out the rebels eight years ago .

Aleppo in the hands of the jihadists - The Syrian army withdraws for regrouping

Images from Aleppo showed a group of rebel fighters gathered in Saadallah al-Jabiri Square after entering the city overnight, with an Assad billboard visible behind them.

“I am the son of Aleppo, and I was displaced from it eight years ago, in 2016. Thank God, we have just returned. It is an indescribable feeling,” said Ali Juba, a rebel, according to television footage.

The Syrian military command said the militants had attacked in large numbers and from multiple directions, ”prompting our armed forces to carry out a redeployment operation aimed at strengthening defense lines in order to absorb the attack, preserve the lives of civilians and soldiers and prepare for a counterattack”.

The Syrian army added that the shelling prevented the rebels from establishing stable positions. He promised to “drive them out and restore state control…over the entire city and its countryside”.

Two rebel sources said the rebels also captured the town of Maraat al-Numan in Idlib province, bringing the entire province under their control, which if true is another major blow to Assad.

Syria: The army admits the advance of jihadists in Aleppo

The attack was launched from rebel-held areas of northwest Syria that remain out of Assad’s hands.

Two Syrian military sources said Russian and Syrian warplanes targeted rebels in a suburb of Aleppo on Saturday.

Speaking on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow viewed the rebel attack as a violation of Syria’s sovereignty. “We are in favor of the Syrian authorities bringing order to the region and restoring constitutional order as soon as possible,” he said.

The Syrian Civil Defense, a rescue agency operating in opposition-held areas of Syria, said in a post on X that Syrian government and Russian warplanes carried out airstrikes on residential districts, a gas station and a school in Idlib that controlled by the rebels, killing four civilians and injuring six others.

On Saturday night, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the air force had carried out new raids against Syrian rebels in support of the country’s army.

The two Syrian military sources said Russia has promised Damascus additional military aid that will begin arriving in the next 72 hours. Authorities closed Aleppo’s airport and roads into the city, the two military sources and a third military source said.

The Syrian army has been called to follow orders for a “safe withdrawal” from the main areas of the city where the rebels had entered, the three military sources said.

Aleppo jihadists