Government Offensive Displaces Thousands Near Aleppo

The Syrian government’s ongoing military offensive in the southern outskirts of Aleppo has displaced thousands of people, according to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

A spokeswoman for the group reportedly told Al-Jazeera English on Monday that fighting on the outskirts of the city of Aleppo had displaced nearly 35,000 people from the towns of Hader and Zerbeh on the southwestern side of the city over the past few days.

Government troops, backed by Russian airstrikes and fighters from Iran and Hezbollah, are targeting areas several miles to the south of the city, along the main highway leading to Damascus.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 41 rebel fighters have been killed in the last few days of fighting, including the commander of the Aleppo-based rebel group, the Nour al-Din al-Zinki brigades – a group that is the recipient of military aid, including TOW missiles, from the U.S. and other regional countries opposed to the rule of current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The group is one of the most powerful rebel factions in northern Syria.

Syrian Troops Advance Toward Besieged Airbase

The Syrian army advanced Monday with significant assistance from Russian air power toward a government air base under siege by Islamic State in northern Syria, a military commander and activists told The Associated Press.

The government’s ongoing military offensive near the northern city of Aleppo is in part aimed at ending the siege of the Kweiras military base that has been imposed by ISIS since 2014. The jihadist group has launched several attacks in an attempt to overtake the base, but has as of yet been unable to do so.

Government troops managed to retake the nearby village of Bkayze – about four miles away from the base – in addition to two other towns south of Aleppo near the main north/south highway.

Since Russia began its air campaign on September 30, Syrian government troops and allied militias have been conducting a multi-front offensive aimed at securing supply routes and regaining control of strategic areas.

Kerry Says U.S. Wants to Avoid ‘Total Destruction’ of Syria

The United States is determined to avert the “total destruction” of Syria, Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters on Monday, saying he had plans to meet with Russian, Saudi and Turkish officials in the coming days in attempt to end the conflict.

“I will be coming back in a few days and I will meet with leaders of Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Jordan to work through … options that could perhaps reignite the political process and bring about a political transition in Syria,” Kerry said during a stop in Madrid.

According to the AFP, sources in Moscow say a meeting between Kerry and his Russian counterpart is expected to take place “soon” in Vienna.

Washington is keen to put a stop to the steadily worsening catastrophe in Syria for fear of the potential fallout across the region and a further increase in mass migration.

Nearly 12 million Syrians – half the country’s population – have been displaced by the conflict thus far.

Top Image: In this photo taken on Syrian Army soldiers rest during fighting in Jobar, Damascus, on Wednesday, 14 October 2015. Backed by Russian airstrikes, the Syrian army has launched an offensive in central and northwestern regions. (Alexander Kots/Komsomolskaya Pravda via AP)

Recommended Reads

• The New York Times: Putin’s Partition Plan for Syria
• The Daily Beast: Can MANPADS Be Controlled in Syria?
• The Washington Post: Iran Backs Assad in Battle for Aleppo With Proxies, Ground Troops
• The New York Times: Untangling the Overlapping Conflicts in the Syrian War
• Business Insider: Insanely Clear Drone Footage Shows a Syrian Army Offensive in a Rebel Stronghold of Damascus