Thousands of Civilians Flee Eastern Aleppo Amid Government Advance

A government advance into eastern Aleppo displaced thousands of civilians, threatening to tear the rebel-held enclave in two, the Associated Press reported.

Syrian government forces backed by thousands of Shiite militia fighters from Lebanon, Iraq and Iran pushed into opposition-held Aleppo, taking the Masaken Hanano and Jabal Badro districts, and entering the Sakhour neighborhood on Sunday.

More than 250 civilians have died under government bombing in eastern Aleppo in the past two weeks, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a United Kingdom-based monitor.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) also pushed into eastern Aleppo in a separate offensive, taking control of the Bustan al-Basha neighborhood. SDF officials denied coordinating with the government and said they had allowed nearly 2,500 civilians to flee to the predominantly Kurdish Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood in Aleppo’s north. Nearly 1,700 civilians fled to western, government-held areas, according to SOHR.

An estimated 275,000 people have been besieged by government forces in rebel-held Aleppo since July. Once Syria’s economic hub, Aleppo has been divided between a government-held west and opposition-controlled east since 2012.

ISIS Blast in Northern Syria Targets Turkish-Backed Rebels

A bomb blast in northern rebel-held Syria wounded 12 people, mostly children, near Turkey’s border on Sunday, Reuters reported.

Several deaths were reported in the bombing in al-Rai, 1 mile (1.6km) away from Turkey, in a blast seemingly carried out by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS). The extremists were pushed from the town by Turkey-backed rebels currently besieging the ISIS stronghold of al-Bab 19 miles (30km) south of al-Rai.

Some 22 rebels were transferred to Turkish hospitals earlier, after an ISIS-fired rocket caused symptoms similar to “chemical gas” exposure, according to the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency. Turkish airstrikes in Syria destroyed four ISIS positions on Saturday.

Three Turkish soldiers were killed in an airstrike on Thursday, believed to have been carried out by the Syrian air force. Ankara responded by deploying low-altitude air defense systems with Stinger missiles on its border with Syria. One year after Turkey downed a Russian warplane, the attack brought fears of a possible escalation in the conflict. Ankara and Moscow only restored ties in August.

Israeli Forces in Occupied Golan Kill Four Islamic State Gunmen

Israel killed four gunmen affiliated with the so-called Islamic State on Sunday in the occupied Golan Heights, Agence France-Presse reported.

Four gunmen in a vehicle fired at Israeli soldiers with machine guns and mortars, crossing the fence separating the occupied Golan from Syria for the first time. Israeli forces fired back, before the Israeli air force bombed the gunmen’s vehicle.

The gunmen were identified as members of “Shuhada al-Yarmouk, an I.S. affiliate,” according to Israeli Defense Force (IDF) spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner.

“Our forces are prepared on our northern border, and we won’t let I.S. elements or other hostile elements use the cover of the war in Syria to establish themselves next to our borders,” said Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel has largely stood on the sidelines of Syria’s war, but has responded to errant fire and occasionally targeted weapon convoys allegedly destined for the Syrian government’s Lebanese militia ally, Hezbollah.

Recommended Reads:

• The Wall Street Journal: Russian Campaign in Syria Exposes Moscow’s Defense Gaps
• The Financial Times: Foreign Fighters Pour into Syria to Bolster Assad Regime
• The Los Angeles Times: As It Advances on Rebel Forces in Aleppo, Syrian Government Looking More Upbeat
• Carnegie: A Voice From the Shadows
• The Syrian Observer: Idleb Students Chafe Under Restrictions