The rebels have taken control of around 50 government-controlled cities and villages, reports the UK-based conflict monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) on Friday morning.
The offensive began earlier in the week and the rebel forces are still advancing in the northeast. According to SOHR, artillery fire has hit a university area in Aleppo, causing panic.
Government-controlled sources also report on this, claiming that at least four civilians have been killed. According to the government, military reinforcements arrived in Aleppo on Friday.
Hundreds killed
The battles in northwestern Syria are primarily between the Syrian army and the extremist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). On Thursday, SOHR reported that more than 200 people had been confirmed dead in the battles, including a general in Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
On Friday, the total death toll has risen to over 240, including around 20 civilian casualties.
On Thursday, it was reported that Russia had deployed military aircraft that attacked from the air. According to SOHR, the vast majority of civilian casualties were caused by the Russian airstrikes.
On Friday, the Russian leadership in the Kremlin urges the Syrian regime to immediately "restore order" around Aleppo.
Entangled allies
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad remains in power after a devastating civil war has ravaged large parts of the country, with continued support from Russia, Iran, and Shia militias in the region. Currently, however, the allies are largely tied up in other wars and conflicts.
The wars just to the west, in Gaza and Lebanon, have in a way spilled over into Syria as Israel has stepped up airstrikes against targets in Syria.
The Assad regime has limited control over Syrian territory, as Kurdish forces maintain self-rule in the northeast and another collection of rebel forces holds areas in the north and northwest, largely with support from Turkey.
Aleppo was Syria's largest city before the outbreak of war in 2011, but in a long and bloody siege, large parts of it were reduced to ruins by indiscriminate Russian airstrikes. In 2016, government forces regained control of the city, which marked a clear turning point in the war.
