A surprise offensive by a coalition of anti-Assad groups has captured the key city of Aleppo and sent Assad's troops and their Russian auxiliaries into a retreat to find more defensible lines. The offensive is led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a faction that until 2017 was considered to be a subsidiary of Al Qaeda. It is allied with several Turkish-backed militias during this offensive. Official reports place the insurgent forces inside Aleppo, but social media reports indicate that Aleppo has fallen except for isolated pockets of resistance.

The rebels have really shaken up things and I think this is only the beginning. Russian forces located at a base in Sarrin 110km from Aleppo are relocating 90km to the SE to Al Raqqa. The Russian are getting their asses kicked in Mali, Ukraine, Russia, and Syria https://t.co/ABQ4vKqcs5 pic.twitter.com/OkUhlgrrXV

— Geopolitical Hub (@GeopoliticalGu1) November 29, 2024

⚡️⚡️⚡️Syrian Rebels are taking the historic center of Aleppo. Amazing. The rebels launched their offensive only 48 hours ago.

Assad is in Moscow & it seems he has not (& will not) return to Syria.

Assad soldiers are abandoning their Russian & Iranian weapons.

Putin’s next 😉 pic.twitter.com/z0dhOtiit9

— Jason Jay Smart (@officejjsmart) November 29, 2024

Total and complete Russia-Assad collapse in Aleppo today.

Assad’s biggest military defeat in 13 years of civil war and Russia’s biggest setback in the Middle East since intervening in 2015.

It turns out that we can actually beat the CCP-Russia-Iran Axis of Evil if we just try pic.twitter.com/CaIgJbI1XY

— Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 (@DrewPavlou) November 29, 2024

Absolutely historic footage from #Aleppo tonight.

Rebel forces reached the statue of Bashar's deceased brother Bassel al-Assad at the eastern edge of the New Aleppo district, taking down the regime flag.#Syria. pic.twitter.com/oacvTCwIZM

— Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) November 29, 2024

Russian aircraft flying in support of the Assad regime have responded in the most Russian way possible. They are bombing population centers held by the "Free Syrian Army."

🇷🇺🇸🇾 Idlib is under relentless heavy bombardment from Russian airstrikes.

Rybar reports a “reshuffling of plans by the Russian General Staff for operations in the region” in response to the Aleppo offensive, with rumors suggesting Russian reinforcements are on their way to… pic.twitter.com/R4OLJPPLby

— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) November 29, 2024

Video and imagery of dead Russian troops, both special forces and private military corporations, are appearing.

#BREAKING 🚨 🇷🇺 🇸🇾

A Russian SSO unit traveling along the M5 highway in Syria was ambushed and killed by rebel forces en route to Aleppo.

This comes months after a similar ambush on Wagner Units operating in Sudan.

These boys were kitted. pic.twitter.com/GOIA7JT5De

— Red Wire (@redwire_x) November 27, 2024

For the record, I'm not sure there are any good guys here. The FSA is the least bad because if you are killing Russians and Iranians, you aren't the worst actor.

The situation is very unclear, but it appears that Assad's army has evaporated in the area of the offensive. It remains to be seen if those troops can be rallied and a defensive line reestablished or if Assad will soon be heading for exile in some place that doesn't have an extradition treaty with France.