Operation Aleppo by Ripley Tim

Author:Ripley, Tim
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-04-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Aleppo: Attack and Counter-Attack

In the final week of September 2016, the Syrian and Russian offensive against the east-Aleppo enclave began in earnest. The 9th September ceasefire was left in tatters after the US-led coalition Dier Ez Zor air strike and then the retaliatory Russian-Syrian attack on the White Helmet warehouse near Aleppo.

The Syrian command around Aleppo had taken the opportunity of the ceasefire to re-shuffle its troops ready for the next attack. They had also benefited from the concentration of Russian surveillance assets over the city to monitor ceasefire compliance. At least two Russian Forpost drones had been circling over the city on a 24/7 basis since 9th September, allowing the Russians and Syrians to build up a detailed picture of rebel defensive position and the movements and habits of the civilian population in the enclave, as well as tracking a number of rebel commanders. The rebels, who had their own drones, did their best to hide their vehicles and equipment from Russian aerial surveillance. During this period one rebel group posted an online video of their armed pick-up trucks, or technicals, being prepared for action in the underground car park of an apartment building.

The Syrian and Russian battle plan was complex and sophisticated, involving ground and air forces, backed up by systematic air surveillance by Russian drones. A major part of the plan was the pre-positioning of humanitarian and medical aid for any civilians who might escape from the enclave to government controlled territory. British journalist Vanessa Beeley visited several of the Syrian and Russian-run refugee reception centres during the later stages of the siege, and described this humanitarian operation which involved the pre-positioning of field hospitals, mobile field kitchens and refugee registration facilities as “extraordinary” and “generous”. “The Russians had a plan and were well organised,” said Beeley.

The aim of Operation Dawn of Victory was not just to capture the territory of the rebel enclave but to win over the “hearts and minds” of its population. International aid organisations and the United Nations estimated that between 250,000 and 300,000 people were inside the enclave, including some 8,000 armed fighters. Around 1,000 of these were hard-line fighters of the Nusra Front and its Jihadi allies. The Syrians had some 10,000 troops deployed around Aleppo, although the majority of them were militia fighters of the National Defence Force who manned the siege lines around pro-government enclaves. These soldiers took turns to serve shifts at the front in between their civilian jobs in the city. The professional soldiers of the Tiger Force and several other Republican Guard units had been reinforced by some 1,200 troops in August and additional forces were on their way to the city.

In the final week of September, some 1,750 new Syrian troops arrived in Aleppo from the Damascus region, including elements 102nd and 106th Republican Guard Brigades, as well as more troops of the 4th Mechanised Division. These units were quickly moved to take up positions on the inner siege lines around the rebel enclave.

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