Siege of Aleppo (1980)

Siege of Aleppo
Part of Islamist uprising in Syria
Marked in red is the Citadel, which was utilised as a main base by government forces in the city. Marked in green are districts which saw either heavy clampdowns or massacres by government forces.
Date 1 April 1980 – February 1981 Location Aleppo, Syria Result Syrian government victory Uprising suppressed Syrian Muslim Brotherhood outlawed
Belligerents
Muslim Brotherhood	Syria
Commanders and leaders
Husni 'Abo  † `Adnan `Uqla	Shafiq Fayadh Hashem Mualla
Units involved
Kata'ib Muhammad Fighting Vanguard	3rd Division Special Forces Defense Brigades
Strength
Several thousand Fighters	30,000
Casualties and losses
2,000 dead 8,000 - 10,000 arrested	300 dead

1980 Siege of Aleppo
Part of Islamist uprising in Syria
Location	Aleppo, Syria
Date	April 1980 - February 1981
Target	Opponents of the al-Assad government, including the Muslim Brotherhood
Attack type	Execution
Deaths	Thousands of Syrians
Perpetrators	Hafez al-Assad, Rifaat al-Assad

Coordinates: 36°11′53″N 37°09′48″E / 36.198133°N 37.16328°E / 36.198133; 37.16328

Syrian government victory

The siege of Aleppo refers to a military operation conducted by forces of the Syrian government led by Hafez al-Assad in 1980 within the armed conflict between the Sunni groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, and the al-Assad government. Government forces committed several massacres in the course of the operation.

Aleppo has traditionally been seen as Syria's most important city after Damascus, and was an important center to members of Syria's democratic and secular opposition as well as the armed Islamist opposition. The city was the scene of the Aleppo Artillery School massacre in June 1979, and also witnessed running battles and clashes between government security forces and the Islamist opposition in Autumn 1979. Armed cells of radical Islamist opposition attacked police patrols and government as a result, Syrian's government military and security forces launched a crackdown resulting in many casualties.

Government security forces clamped down on the opposition, raiding opposition centers and meeting places. Government security forces were composed of 5,000 soldiers of the Defense Brigades, as well as thousands of members of the police and various other state security organizations. In spite of the heavy government presence large sections of Aleppo fell out of the control of the Syrian state.

Violence in the city exploded in November 1979, after security forces arrested Shaykh Zain al-Din Khairalla, a leading voice amongst Islamists and a regular leader of Friday prayers in the Great Mosque of Aleppo. Following the arrest opposition activity and violence increased exponentially, with daily demonstrations, strikes, and boycotts, and increased attacks on Ba'ath Party offices. The Islamist opposition were the biggest threat to the state, as they were the best armed and organized, although the secular opposition threatened the Ba'athist state due to its wide support amongst the middle classes, as well as minority groups opposed to the Islamists.

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