Aleppo offensive (September–October 2016)

Map of the offensive

Early on 22 September 2016, the Syrian and Russian Air Forces started preparatory air-strikes for the upcoming offensive. Over 40 air-strikes were conducted against five districts throughout the day.[43][44] Mobilization of ground units had also started[43] and by the evening of that day, the ground assault against the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo city was about to begin.[39] At this time, the military officially announced the start of the offensive.[1][45]

The strikes continued for a second day into 23 September,[44] and the explosions were described as "the fiercest the city had faced".[1] Buildings were demolished, a main water station was damaged[46] and neighborhoods were engulfed in flames.[47] Since the start of the bombing campaign, 50 Russian air-strikes had been conducted on the city and 30 in the surrounding areas,[48] in addition to dozens carried out by the Syrian Air Force.[49] During the day, the first Army ground advances took place in the southern outskirts of Aleppo,[50] as the military secured the Ramousah-'Amiriyah highway and its intersection after gains around the Al-Badawi mosque.[51][52] The government advances forced civilians from the area to migrate to other parts of eastern Aleppo.[49] Later, pro-government Palestinian militias also captured parts of the Handarat Camp area of northeastern Aleppo,[4][52] namely the Shaher district.[53] The Handarat Camp had been previously a Palestinian refugee camp.[54] By the end of the day, the Syrian Air Force had conducted more than 150 air-strikes against 30 neighbourhoods in Aleppo. Army artillery bombardment was also conducted.[55]

Early on 24 September, military preparations were being made for the Syrian Army to assault the southern Sheikh Sa'id district.[56] The attack started that morning, and within hours government troops had taken control of several building blocks.[57][58][59] Concurrently, pro-government militias continued to advance in the Handarat Camp area,[60] seizing the eastern entrance to the Camp and leaving only half of it still rebel-held.[53] Shortly after, the Palestinian militias captured the whole Handarat Camp.[61][62][63] In addition, government troops made advances on a third axis, taking control of two dozen building blocks near the historic Aleppo citadel in the city center.[57] Meanwhile, a new wave of air-strikes were conducted throughout Aleppo, and a military official stated the strikes had been targeting an array of rebel fortifications, including tunnels, bunkers and command centers.[64] Following the capture of the Handarat Camp district, the Army shifted its focus to the nearby Kindi Cancer Hospital, which had been converted into a military base by the rebels.[65] Intense clashes took place at the hospital, as the Army also imposed fire control over the nearby Shuqeif Industrial Area.[66] Later that evening, an initial rebel counter-attack against the Handarat Camp was repelled.[67] However, pro-government militias withdrew from the district, while still maintaining control of the nearby Shaher sector and the Handarat Industrial District, east of the refugee camp.[68][69]

On 25 September, after securing the Shaher district, the Palestinian militias launched a new assault on the Handarat Camp.[70] The camp was heavily hit by air-strikes. The bombing burned many rebel vehicles. Fighting also continued in the southern Sheikh Sa'id district,[71] where the Army was reportedly in control of 25–30 percent of the area.[72]

On 27 September, the Army advanced in the Farafira district of Old Aleppo[73][74] and captured it.[75][76][77] At the same time, the two largest hospitals in the rebel-held part of the city were hit by an air-strike and artillery fire.[77] The next day, the military slightly advanced in the al-Suweiqa area of Old Aleppo, although some saw the assault on Old Aleppo as a diversionary attack so the Army could take control of the Handarat Camp where fighting continued.[78]

On 29 September, pro-government forces broke through the last rebel defense line in the Handarat Camp[79] and once again took complete control of the district.[80] In order to secure Handarat Camp, government troops continued with their assault and attacked the nearby Shaqayf district,[81] as well as the Kindi Hospital.[82] The next morning, after heavy clashes, pro-government forces captured the Kindi Hospital, thus fortifying their positions at the Handarat Camp[83][84] and coming within two kilometers of the Jandoul roundabout.[85] Soon after, the military started an operation against the rebel-held central district of Suleiman Al-Halabi[86] and advanced, seizing much of its western sector.[87] However, after advancing, government troops withdrew and the rebels recaptured their lost positions.[84][88] During the fighting in Suleiman Al-Halabi, which was described as "back and forth", a water station was bombed, with both sides trading blame.[84] The Army was trying to reach the rebel-held station since it was the main water source for the government-held part of Aleppo.[89] Later in the day, the rebels reentered the Kindi hospital, reigniting fighting for the building,[90] while the Army reportedly captured the northwestern part of the Bustan Al-Basha district.[91] The rebels eventually managed to recapture the hospital.[92]

On 1 October, the Syrian Army continued to advance in the Bustan Al-Basha district,[93] although subsequently the rebels claimed to had recaptured the positions they lost in Bustan Al-Basha,[94] while elsewhere government forces captured Tal Shuqayf hill and 16 nearby buildings, establishing fire control over the Aleppo Armament Base and the Shuqayf Industrial Area.[95] The next day, the Army seized the Shuqayf Industrial area,[96] the Jandoul beltway[97] and the Kindi Hospital.[98][99] During the Army's gains at Shuqayf, the Kurdish YPG militia also advanced against the rebels at the Jandoul roundabout.[100] Meanwhile, Army advances in Bustan Al-Basha continued,[101] with government forces reaching the outskirts of the al-Heluk district,[102] while a new Army attack on the Suleiman Al-Halabi water station was again repelled.[103] Elsewhere, the largest hospital in the rebel part of the city, known as M10, was once again bombed.[104] At this point, the Army called on the rebels to withdraw from Aleppo, offering them safe passage and aid supplies.[98]

On 3 October, Syrian government forces attacked the Owaija district[105] and reportedly seized a quarter of the area before sundown, while the Army established fire control over the Jandoul roundabout.[106] The same day, the M10 hospital was bombed for the third time[107] and completely destroyed.[108] On 4 October, the rebels claimed that an Army assault on the southern Sheikh Sa'id district had been repelled,[109] while a government source stated they had reached a bridge in the northwestern part of the district.[110] Meanwhile, the military advanced in the city center, capturing several high-rise buildings,[111] as well as in the factories area of the northern Owaija district.[112] For the first time in four years, Syrian Army tanks crossed the frontline in Aleppo.[113]

On 5 October, Syrian Army advances continued in the northern district of Owaija and the southern district of Al-Amiriyah.[114][115] As of 6 October, government forces were in control of 50–80% of the Bustan Al-Basha district[116][117] 45–50% of Owaija[118] and the northern Bakarah Quarries[119] that overlook the Kindi Hospital.[92] With the new advances in Bustan Al-Basha, the Army was closing in on the Suleiman Al-Halabi water station from two sides[120] and by dusk they had secured the Suleiman Al-Halabi district.[121][122] Later that night, the Army made advances in the Salah al-Din district and the Bureij area,[123] while they had also reportedly taken control of half of the Sheikh Sa'id district.[124]

Early on 7 October, Syrian government forces continued to assault Sheikh Sa'id, seizing Tal Sheikh Sa'eed hill.[19][125] Still, the rebels managed to recapture other territory in the district they had lost.[125] The next day, the rebels were able to reclaim large parts of Sheikh Sa'id and several points around the water station in Suleiman Al-Halabi, leaving them in control of 20% of that district.[125][126] Still, despite this, government forces took complete control of the Owaija district and the Jandoul roundabout.[127][128][129] Subsequently, the Army took control of over 50% of the nearby Manashar Al-Breij district.[2] Army advances also continued in Bustan Al-Basha.[128]

On 9 October, back-and-forth fighting raged in Sheikh Sa'id and Bustan Al-Basha.[130][131][132][133] By this point, government forces had seized 15–20% of the rebel-held part of Aleppo, with the rebels struggling to maintain a stable frontline due to a lack of sufficient resources, which had also been impacted by the heavy air campaign against their positions and ammo depots, to counter Army advances.[2]

Early on 10 October, Syrian government troops seized Tal Sifan hill, near Owaija,[134] and the following day consolidated their control of the Jandoul roundabout.[15][135] Two days later, the Army seized four hills in the northeast of Aleppo, including one that overlooks the Hanano Youth Housing Complex.[136][137] Advances in the northeast of Aleppo continued into 14 October,[138][139][140] with the Syrian Army making its first push towards the Youth Housing Complex.[141] The military also made an effort to open a route between the north of Aleppo and the airport in the south,[142] managing to take control of most of the Al-Aradh Al-Hamra district in the southeast of Aleppo.[138] Meanwhile, the M10 hospital was once again hit with a bunker-buster bomb.[143]

On 15 October, Syrian government forces advanced near the Ba'idayn roundabout, in the north of Aleppo, amid heavy fighting,[144] breaching a one kilometer frontline and pushing the rebels back by one kilometer.[145] They also advanced on the Nayrab Bridge-al-Miysar district axis from the direction of the airport, fully securing the Al-Aradh Al-Hamra district,[146] and seized parts of the nearby Karm al-Trab neighborhood.[147] In the evening, government troops penetrated rebel defense lines at the Ba'idayn roundabout, capturing the surrounding factories.[148][149][150]

On 16 October, a new Syrian Army assault on Sheikh Sa'id was repelled by rebel forces,[151] while Syrian government forces advanced in the Salah al-Din district, capturing over 10 buildings.[152]