Syrian Army amasses large force in Aleppo as new offensive nears

With a ceasefire announced in the Idlib Governorate, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has shifted their attention to Aleppo, where their forces have been deploying reinforcements day-after-day.

According to a military source in the Aleppo Governorate, the Syrian Arab Army sent a large convoy of reinforcements to Aleppo on Sunday morning, as many of these troops were previously deployed to the southeastern front-lines of Idlib.

The source told Al-Masdar that the reinforcements arrived in the southern countryside of the Aleppo Governorate with heavy armor, including several tanks and BMPs.

He would add that the Syrian Arab Army’s offensive in the southern and western parts of Aleppo are quickly approaching and could be launched as early as late January.

At midnight on Sunday, the Russian-Turkish sponsored ceasefire began in the Idlib Governorate; this agreement will shift the battlefield to Aleppo, where the Syrian Army is already battling the jihadist rebels of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) in the southern and western Aleppo.

Since the Syrian Army captured the eastern part of Aleppo city, their troops have only focused on shelling the nearby jihadists; however, the situation around the provincial capital has become too problematic for the government, which is why the operation has been green-lighted.