A section of Aleppo’s historical citadel collapsed when Syrian regime forces stationed in the castle demolished a tunnel used to infiltrate the locations of armed opposition factions in the city.
Media spokesman for rebel group ash-Sham Front, Yasser Abu Ammar, said that a four-meter-high wall in the southeastern part of the citadel collapsed after regime forces blew up the tunnel.
Abu Ammar noted that regime forces collapsed the tunnel because they thought opposition forces had discovered it. "Though the opposition forces were aware of the tunnel, they were still unable to determine its position inside the castle", Abu Ammar said.
Abu Ammar added that violent clashes broke out between the regime and opposition forces after the tunnel was demolished.
Regime forces withdrew to the citadel of Aleppo after the opposition seized its surrounding areas last year, with both parties waging attacks using tunnels.
Many archaeological buildings surrounding the castle have been completely or partially destroyed, including inns, mosques and markets, due to clashes and explosions.
The Citadel of Aleppo is one of the oldest and largest castles in the world, the hill on which the castle was built dates back to the third millennium BC, while the current building can be traced back to the Ayyubid period in the 12th and 13th century.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
