Government forces backed by allies including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Russian air force advanced last week to within a few hundred metres (yards) of the only road into the rebel-held part of Aleppo, making it impassable for the several hundred thousand people living there.
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Multiple parties to the Syrian conflict have besieged and starved civilians over the course of the war, which is in its sixth year.
The Castello Road had been used by rebels but also by shopkeepers bringing in produce for residents and by villagers visiting relatives in the city. “We warn all civilians from using the road at all by any means”, he said.
“They are now setting up sandbag barriers”, he said. Dozens have died from starvation and untreated medical conditions in besieged areas, according to local activist groups.
Eastern Aleppo is not yet designated by the United Nations as besieged.
Shopkeepers have begun rationing their products and there have been long queues outside bakeries.
Fighters of the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) carry their weapons as they walk in the western rural area of Manbij, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, June 13, 2016.
Six Tupolev bombers flew out of an air base in Russia Thursday morning and conducted strikes east of Palmyra, near the cities of Arak and Sukhneh, as well as in the Homs region, the statement said.
Fighters loyal to President Bashar al-Assad sought to seize the Castello Road for almost two years as part of their campaign to retake the whole of Aleppo.
The escalation of violence in the province of Aleppo coincided with a 72-hour ceasefire called for by the Syrian government on July 6, as the country celebrated Eid ul-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Syria’s state media made no mention of the developments on Sunday, but pro-government websites like Al Masdar News reported the advance.
AFP’s correspondent in one eastern rebel-controlled neighbourhood said the distant sound of clashes could be heard.
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Air raids on rebel-held districts of Syria’s battleground second city of Aleppo killed at least 28 civilians including children yesterday, a monitor said.
