Background
{{Main, Syrian Civil War {{See also, 2012 Aleppo Governorate clashes In 2011,Combatants
Course of the battle
2012: Initial rebel attack and capture of Eastern Aleppo
{{Main, Combat operations in 2012 during the Battle of Aleppo Gunfire between rebels and security forces broke out in and around Salaheddine, a district in the city's southwest, on the night of 19 July 2012. In late July and early August 2012, the FSA continued its offensive in Aleppo, with both sides suffering a high level of casualties. Rebel commanders said their main aim was to capture the city center.{{cite news, last=Solomon , first=Erika , url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-crisis-idUKBRE86H18C20120731 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203162934/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-crisis-idUKBRE86H18C20120731 , url-status=dead , archive-date=3 February 2016 , title=Syrian army pounds Aleppo, rebels claim successes , work=Reuters , date=31 July 2012, access-date=2 November 2012 On 30 July, the rebels seized a strategic checkpoint in Anadan, a town north of Aleppo, gaining a direct route between the city and the Turkish border—an important rebel supply base. They also captured Al-Bab, an army base northeast of the city. Later, rebels attacked the air base at Minakh, {{Convert, 30, km, miles, abbr=on northwest of Aleppo, with arms and tanks captured at the Anadan checkpoint. Opposition forces continued to gain territory in the city, controlling most of eastern and southwestern Aleppo, including Salaheddine and parts of Hamdaniyeh.{{cite news , url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/ambushes-and-air-strikes-as-syrian-regime-fight-rebels-streetbystreet-to-gain-possession-of-aleppo-7994450.html , title=Ambushes and air strikes as Syrian regime fight rebels street-by-street to gain possession of Aleppo , author=Kim Sengupta , date=31 July 2012 , work=The Independent , access-date=31 July 2012 , location=London They continued to target security centers and police stations as clashes erupted near the Air Force intelligence headquarters in Aleppo's northwestern district Zahraa. Rebels over-ran several police stations and posts in the central and southern districts of Bab al-Nerab, Al-Miersa and Salhain, seizing a significant quantity of arms and ammunition.2013: Advances and counter-advances
{{Main, Combat operations in 2013 during the Battle of Aleppo2014: Ba'athist government encirclement of the rebels
{{Main, Combat operations in 2014 during the Battle of Aleppo Government forces, having lifted the siege of Aleppo in October 2013, continued their offensive in 2014. This culminated in the capture of the Sheikh Najjar industrial district north of Aleppo and the lifting of the siege of Aleppo Central Prison on 22 May 2014, which contained a garrison of government soldiers that had resisted rebel forces since 2012. A2015: War of attrition
{{Main, Combat operations in 2015 during the Battle of Aleppo {{See also, Aleppo offensive (October–December 2015), East Aleppo offensive (2015–16)2016: Supply lines cut, surrender, and evacuation
{{Main, Combat operations in 2016 during the Battle of Aleppo, Northern Aleppo offensive (February 2016), 2016 Aleppo campaign, Aleppo offensive (July–August 2016), Aleppo offensive (August–September 2016), Aleppo offensive (September–October 2016), Aleppo offensive (October–November 2016), Aleppo offensive (November–December 2016) left, Destroyed area in AleppoAftermath
On 22 February 2018, it was reported that the YPG had agreed to hand over the eastern districts of the city of Aleppo to the Syrian government. According to Syrian state television, this decision was made to reinforce positions around the region of Afrin, and to halt Turkey's offensive. This came days after pro-Syrian government fighters agreed to bolster the Kurdish forces in the northwest. SOHR and a witness later said that Syrian government forces had entered the areas controlled by the Kurdish fighters. YPG spokesman Nouri Mahmoud however denied this claim. A YPG commander later stated that Kurdish fighters had shifted to Afrin to help repel a Turkish assault. As a result, he said the pro-Syrian government forces had regained control of the districts previously controlled by them. Throughout the start of 2020, the SAA made advances in the Idlib and Aleppo countryside. On 17 February, they had regained control of the last rebel-held suburbs in Aleppo city, gaining full control for the first time since 2012.{{cite web, url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6635168/syria-forces-consolidate-control-of-aleppo/?cs=14232, title=Syria forces consolidate control of Aleppo, work=Canberra times, date=17 February 2020 , access-date=19 February 2020 Starting from 27 November 2024, the Syrian rebels, under lead of HTS, launched a major offensive into the western and southern Aleppo governate capturing the entirety of the western governate. This offensive resulted in the rebels entering Aleppo 2 days after starting the offensive, making it the first rebel presence in Aleppo since the end of the battle in 2016.Strategic analysis
Rebel forces expanded into the countryside south of Aleppo to control sections of the M4 and M5 highways, effectively blocking ground reinforcements for the Syrian Army. Before the end of 2012, the Syrian Army in Aleppo was receiving sporadic supplies and ammunition replenishment by air or via backroads. The fall of Base 46, a large complex that reinforced and supplied government troops, was seen by experts as "a tactical turning point that may lead to a strategic shift" in the battle for Aleppo. In a November 2012, intelligence report, American publisher Strategic Forecasting, Inc. described the strategic position of government forces in Aleppo as "dire", and said the Free Syrian Army had them "essentially surrounded". On 26 November 2012, rebels captured Tishrin Dam, further isolating government forces in Aleppo and leaving only one route into Aleppo. By late January 2013 Deputy Prime MinisterThe role of Turkey
Turkey had sponsored rebel forces in Aleppo to a degree that eastern Aleppo was called "a Turkish card guarded by jihadis."{{cite magazine, author=Robert F. Worth, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/24/magazine/aleppo-after-the-fall.html, title=Aleppo After the Fall, magazine=New York Times Magazine, date=24 May 2017 However, Turkish policy changed in August 2016, moving thousands of rebel fighters away from the area west of Aleppo to counter the secular federalistCasualties
With over four years of fighting, the Battle of Aleppo left at least 31,273 people dead, almost a tenth of the overall Syrian war casualties at the time. TheAllegations of war crimes
Syrian government and allies
{{Further, Russian–Syrian hospital bombing campaign, label1=Russian hospital bombing campaigns in Syria{{Quote box, width=20%, align=quote=The violations and abuses suffered by people across the country, including the siege and bombardment of eastern Aleppo, are not simply tragedies; they also constitute crimes of historic proportions., source=Rebels
A UN envoy warned that rebels may have been committing war crimes in Aleppo by engaging in indiscriminate rocket warfare targeting civilians while trying to lift the siege in October and November 2016. The Aleppo rebels used improvised artillery, including " hell cannons", makeshiftKurdish-led forces
Amnesty reported that, according to theDestruction of the city and heritage
''...the ongoing devastation inflicted on the country's stunning archaeological sites—bullet holes lodged in walls of its ancient Roman cities, the debris of Byzantine churches, early mosques and crusader fortresses—rob Syria of its best chance for a post-conflict economic boom based on tourism, which, until the conflict started 18 months ago, contributed 12% to the national income.{{cite magazine, title=Syria's Looted Past: How Ancient Artifacts Are Being Traded for Guns, url=https://world.time.com/2012/09/12/syrias-looted-past-how-ancient-artifacts-are-being-traded-for-guns/#ixzz26ujLHJ8C, magazine=Time, access-date=24 September 2015The Al-Madina Souq, a major souq (market) in Aleppo, was affected by a fire in September 2012. The ''
Reactions
Media coverage
The coverage of the siege of Aleppo in the Western media emphasised the suffering of civilians and often contained graphic pictures of injured and dying children. As there were almost no international journalists there, the reporting was outsourced to local activists linked to the rebels who held the city. This was significantly different from the news coverage of the sieges ofDomestic reaction
The Syrian President,Aleppo victory celebrations
Foreign reactions
* In October and December 2016, the UN held a "Security Council Emergency Briefing on Syria" to discuss the situation in Aleppo. However, no agreement was reached. The United States Ambassador to the United Nations,Protests in solidarity with anti-government forces in Aleppo
Rallies and demonstrations intended to show solidarity with Aleppo's besieged civilians, as well as protests against the Syrian government and its Iranian and Russian allies, were held in several cities across the world, organized by numerous groups. In Paris, the Eiffel Tower went dark on 14 December 2016, as a symbol of solidarity, and thousands protested in Paris' Stravinsky Square against Russia's role in the destruction of the city.Timeline
* Syrian government supply lines cut between October 2012 and October 2013, before being re-established from the south.{{cite news, url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/10/2012109224646736885.html, title=Syrian rebels claim control of strategic town, publisher=Al Jazeera, date=4 October 2012, access-date=13 October 2012 * From mid-to-late 2014, the Syrian government captures the eastern and northeastern approaches to the city. * Syrian government cuts the northern rebel supply route from Turkey in February 2016, and the last road into the rebel-held part of Aleppo city in July 2016. * Syrian government siege of rebel-held parts of Aleppo from Summer into Fall 2016,{{cite web, url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/map-syrian-army-attempts-capture-new-sites-southern-aleppo/, title= apSyrian Army attempts to capture new sites in southern Aleppo, first=Leith, last=Fadel, publisher=almasdarnews.com, date=8 September 2016, access-date=28 January 2017, archive-date=28 October 2020, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028194947/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/map-syrian-army-attempts-capture-new-sites-southern-aleppo/, url-status=dead two rebel counteroffensives repelled.{{cite news, url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/syria-army-besieges-aleppo-as-us-russia-talks-stumble/3100204.html, title=IS ousted from Turkey border as Syria army besieges Aleppo, publisher=channelnewsasia.com, agency=AFP/ec, date=5 September 2016, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916190030/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/syria-army-besieges-aleppo-as-us-russia-talks-stumble/3100204.html, archive-date=16 September 2016 * On 12 December 2016, Syrian government forces had gained control of 98% of the formerly rebel-held east, and rebels were reportedly "near defeat". * Syrian government and allies' victory reported on 12 December and declared on 13 December. * City divided between a government-held west and rebel-held east, with two northern districts YPG-held, from July 2012 to November 2016. * Thirty percent of the UNESCO World Heritage SiteSee also
{{Portal, Asia {{div col, colwidth=25em * Battle of Aleppo (2024) * Siege of Homs—Siege of the city of Homs (2012–2014) during the Syrian Civil War * Rif Dimashq Governorate campaign—Battle for the control of Damascus and its surroundings * Siege of Eastern Ghouta * Palmyra offensive (2017) * Siege of Kobanî * Siege of Nubl and al-Zahraa—Part of the Battle for Aleppo * Battle of Benghazi (2014–2017) *Notes
{{NotelistReferences
{{Reflist, 30emBibliography
* {{cite web , last1=Cafarella , first1=Jennifer , last2=Casagrande , first2=Genevieve , title=Syrian Opposition Guide , publisher= Institute for the Study of War , series=Backgrounder , url=https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Syrian%20Opposition%20Guide_0.pdf , date=7 October 2015 * {{Cite web , last1= Cafarella , first1= Jennifer , last2= Zhou , first2= Jason , title = Russia's Dead-End Diplomacy in Syria , date = 2019 , publisher = Institute for the Study of War , url = https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/ISW%20Report%20-%20Russia%E2%80%99s%20Dead-End%20Diplomacy%20in%20Syria%20-%20November%202019.pdf * {{cite book , last= Lister , first= Charles R. , title= The Syrian Jihad: Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Evolution of an Insurgency , url= https://books.google.com/books?id=S6eKCwAAQBAJ , date= 2015 , publisher=External links
{{Commons category, Battle of Aleppo