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Hundreds of cadets and officers from the Al-Assad Military Academy have been rescued in a joint Syrian-Russian counter-terrorism operation carried out to break through a siege by militants in the northwestern city of Aleppo, the country’s Defense Ministry announced on December 4.
In a statement, the ministry said that the cadets fought off the militants before being aided by “joint Syrian-Russian military-political coordination.”
The militants -led by al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)- had stormed the academy with various types of medium- and heavy-caliber weapons and advanced drones, according to the ministry.
The students were later encircled again by groups of militants armed with heavy vehicles, including tanks, artillery, machine guns, and drones, the statement said, noting that some of the cadets and officers were killed and others injured.
The siege was eventually lifted through a joint Syrian-Russian military cooperation, the ministry added. The academy students have safely arrived in the western city of Homs, where they were provided with the necessary care and medical treatment, the statement said.
Sources familiar with the situation told SouthFront that the cadets and officers, numbered around 800, were the last to withdraw from Aleppo city, which fell into the hands of HTS and its allies on November 30. The young troops fought fiercely, refusing orders to pull out to the very last minute.
The cadets were first evacuated to Aleppo International Airport by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) 4th Division. They were the last to leave Aleppo city, moving towards the town of al-Safira in the southern countryside. Upon arriving, the troops were ambushed and besieged by militants, including from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army.
Yet again, the cadets refused to surrender, according to the sources. Besieged on the rooftops of a few buildings in the area of al-Waha near al-Safira, the young men, some aged just 18, fought alongside their commanders, killing or wounding dozens of militants.
In one case, a small isolated group of cadets killed at least eight militants in a clash from point blank, the sources said.
As militants began to amass a large force to attack the cadets on December 1, the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) intervened and the SAA’s 25th Special Mission Forces Division began advancing towards al-Safira from the eastern countryside of Hama to evacuate them.
The first Russian strikes destroyed a multiple rocket launch system and eliminated an entire gathering of militants.
Within a few hours, the cadets began to move under the cover of Russian strikes. The militants could no longer afford to chase them. After more than 24 hours of fighting, HTS and its allies gave up. The SAA and the VKS managed to reach the cadets and evacuate them.
The fall of Aleppo city was marked by corruption and betrayal, yet the story of the cadets from the Al-Assad Military Academy shows that many Syrians are still willing to fight. The successful operation to evacuate the troops wouldn’t have been possible without the intervention of the VKS.
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