242 dead

Jihadists conquer dozens of towns in Syria

Jihadists in Syria(Bild: AFP/Omar Haj Kadour)

Jihadists and their allies have captured dozens of towns and villages in Syria (see video above). According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 242 people have been killed since Wednesday, including 24 civilians.

The fighting began that day, with an alliance of Islamist rebels claiming to have launched an offensive entitled "Deterring Aggression". It was a reaction to previous artillery fire by the Syrian government on civilian targets. The offensive is focused on the north and north-west of Syria, which the government controls.

In Aleppo, the heaviest fighting in years is currently taking place between Islamist rebels and government troops. Four people were killed in an attack on a university campus on Friday. According to the Syrian Observatory, the victims were students. The rebel forces denied this.

Jihadists in Syria(Bild: AFP/Omar Haj Kadour)

A fighter in a village(Bild: AFP/Omar Haj Kadour)

An opposition fighter(Bild: AP/Omar Albam)

Refugees in a camp in the province of Idlib(Bild: AFP/Aaref Watad)

Russian fighter jets support
"More than 50 villages and towns in the Aleppo and Idlib regions are now under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions," it was reported on Friday. In response to the offensive, the Syrian army is said to have attacked more than 60 targets in Ildib and around Aleppo with the support of Russian fighter jets. The information could not initially be independently verified.

Since the start of the fighting on Wednesday, at least 242 people are said to have been killed, including 24 civilians. "We are receiving reports of children with multiple injuries from shrapnel," said David Carden, UN Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria. About 14,000 people have now been displaced, according to the United Nations. The situation for civilians is deteriorating.

Civil war since 2011
The civil war in Syria began in March 2011, triggered by a peaceful protest against Assad's authoritarian regime during the Arab Spring. The ruler came under heavy pressure at times, but now controls two thirds of the country again with the help of his allies Russia and Iran. The opposition partly controls the north-west. The country is completely divided, with no political solution in sight.