Battle of Aleppo (2012–16)

Battle of Aleppo
معركة حلب

Clockwise from top-left: A destroyed tank in Aleppo, the Saadallah al-Jabiri Square buildings after the October 2012 Aleppo bombings, residents of Aleppo wait in line for food, and a Free Syrian Army fighter walking among rubble in Aleppo

Bottom: The situation in Aleppo on 20 August 2016, when both the rebels and Syrian Government forces besieged each other

Map Legend

Syrian Arab Army control Opposition control (including al-Nusra Front) SDF control Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant control Joint SAA-SDF control Confrontation or unclear situation

Date

19 July 2012 – 22 December 2016
(4 years, 5 months and 3 days)

Location

Aleppo, Syria

Result

Decisive Syrian Army & allied victory

City divided between a government-held west and rebel-held east, with two northern districts YPG-held, from July 2012 to November 2016
UNESCO World Heritage Site Ancient City of Aleppo largely destroyed in the fighting
In December 2016, pro-government forces gained control of all of the formerly rebel-held east
Rebels continue to hold one neighborhood and parts of two others in the outskirts of the city, the YPG controls Sheikh Maqsoud

Belligerents

Syrian Arab Republic
Iran (from 2013)
Russia (from September 2015)
Allied militias:
Liwa al-Quds(from 2013)
Hezbollah(from 2013)
Popular Mobilization Forces(from 2016)
Liwa Fatemiyoun
Liwa Zainebiyoun
Ba'ath Brigades
SSNP(from 2016)

Fatah Halab (2015–2016)
Jaysh Halab (December 2016)
Army of Conquest (since mid-2016)
Ansar al-Sharia (2015–2016)
Free Syrian Army

Support:

YPG
YPJ

Commanders and leaders

Ali Abdullah Ayyoub
(Chief of the General Staff)
Suheil al-Hasan
(Head of Aleppo military operations)
Qasem Soleimani
(Major General of IRGC)
Viktor Bondarev
(Russian Air Force Commander-in-Chief)
Maher al-Assad
(4th Division)
Mohammed Akkad
(Governor of Aleppo)