Rebels behind Aleppo’s surprise fall took advantage of Russian and Iranian distraction
Forces only took three days to take the city from Bashar al-Assad's regime, but the Middle East's newest conflict looks set to last
It was not Kyiv that fell in three days, but Aleppo. A surprise offensive launched by Syrian rebels from the north west of the country last week has reignited a dormant conflict - and revealed a change in the balance of power caused not by one but two nearby wars, in Ukraine and Lebanon and the Middle East.
Aleppo was the scene of fierce and destructive fighting between 2012 and 2016 when the Syrian civil war was at its height. Rebel groups were forced out as Syrian government forces supporting the president, Bashar al-Assad, were able to capture the country's second city, with the help of Russia and its air force.
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