Battle of Azaz (2012)

Battle of Azaz
Part of the 2012 Aleppo Governorate clashes (Early insurgency phase of the Syrian Civil War)
Date 6 March – 23 July 2012 (4 months, 2 weeks and 3 days) Location Azaz, Aleppo Governorate, Syria Result Decisive Rebel victory
Belligerents
Free Syrian Army	Syrian Arab Republic Syrian Arab Army
Units involved
Northern Storm Brigade	5th Mechanized Division
Strength
2,000+	900 soldiers 20 tanks
Casualties and losses
125 killed	100+ soldiers killed 17 tanks destroyed

Syrian Arab Republic

The Battle of Azaz was a battle between the Syrian Arab Army and the Free Syrian Army for control of the city of Azaz, north of Aleppo, during the early insurgency phase of the Syrian Civil War.

By 6 March, the rebel Free Syrian Army had taken control of towns north of Aleppo and were attacking Azaz. Subsequent, defections from the Syrian Army, following a crackdown in the wider Aleppo region against anti-government activists, led to the town becoming a battleground between the Syrian Army and the Free Syrian Army, made up of defectors and armed civilians in late March 2012. Three soldiers were killed by the FSA in fighting in March. On May 23, the government launched an assault on Azaz. As their armored columns approached the city from the west supported by helicopters and artillery, they encountered stiff rebel resistance from the combined forces of Ahrar alShamal Brigade and the Muthanna ibn Haritha Battalion. Over the next three days, government forces attempted to take rebel-held neighborhoods. By the evening of May 26, rebels pushed the government out of the city, destroying five armored vehicles in the process.

At the beginning of July, the Assad government began its second major offensive operation in northern Aleppo. Once again, the focus of this offensive was Azaz, which the government began to shell on July 2. A week later, the Syrian observatory for Human Rights reported heavy clashes in several of the city's neighborhoods. The struggle for Azaz continued until July 19, when rebel groups finally re-established control of the city. The government retreated to Minnakh Air Base, which remained operational. On 23 July, it was confirmed that the FSA had finally taken control of Azaz. They said that 17 government tanks had been destroyed and one captured, although a journalist in the area counted 7 destroyed tanks.

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