Rebel forces have seized the city of Aleppo in Syria, marking a significant turning point in a 13 year civil war.
Aleppo is Syria’s second largest city and has been under the control of President Bashar al-Assad, a dictator whose family regime has run Syria since 1971.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its allied factions seized the city and were reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights to additionally have control of strategic towns around the city’s border and Aleppo’s airport.
HTS is a jihadist rebel group, led by Syria’s former Al-Qaeda's branch, and along with its allies, they have had control of a pocket in the Idlib region of Syria's north-west.
In the wake of Aleppo being seized Syria’s military has announced a “temporary troop withdrawal” and said that it was now regrouping and strengthening defence lines as it prepared a counterattack.
It also said that dozens of its soldiers had been killed or wounded in the battles with “armed terrorist organisations”.
It has now been over a decade since Syria’s civil war began, set off by a suppression of protests over the Arab Spring and human rights abuses from the Assad regime.
The Assad regime has held approximately 70% of the country, and this marks the first time in years that rebel groups have launched a surprise offensive against government-held positions.