Islamist rebels have been advancing through large swathes of the country's north-west in the past week, threatening the rule of Syria's long-time president, Bashar Al-Assad.

Assad’s favor after a Russian blitzkrieg on Aleppo helped him regain control over the country’s second biggest city.

Several armed Syrian opposition groups have taken control of almost all of Aleppo, the second largest city in Syria, according to a war monitoring group and reports from the city. Why it matters: The breach of Aleppo is a dramatic shift in the 13-year Syrian civil war and the rebels' largest offensive since 2020.