Syrian rebels have reportedly seized control of a strategic area of western Aleppo, Khan al-Assal. For months, the people of this northern province have witnessed violent clashes between the rebel forces and the army of President Bashar al-Assad. 

The village is also the scene where chemical weapons were allegedly used in March, killing more than 30 people. The Syrian rebels and the government blame each other for the attack, both demanding an international investigation. 

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“We managed to liberate the western entry point to Aleppo. We achieved this victory against the Assad forces and Iranian Revolutionary Guards, along with some forces from Hezbollah,” rebels said in a video shared on the Internet on Tuesday. 

This strategic victory came hours after the opposition fighters faced some of their worst losses in months near Damascus. 

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 75 rebel fighters were killed on Sunday. At least 93,000 people have been killed since the start of the civil war, which started mostly with peaceful protests against Bashar al-Assad’s government.  

In recent months, the war has taken an increasingly sectarian tone centered around Sunni Muslim rebels fighting against Alawites, an offshoot of the Shia sect that dominates Assad’s regime. 

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Reach Executive Producer Syuzanna Petrosyan here. Follow her on Twitter.