Syrian rebels and insurgents said on Friday they are edging closer to breaking the government force’s siege of the opposition-held part of Aleppo, taking parts of the city’s military college close to a strategic siege area.
Advertisement
Syrian regime forces bolstered by Russian air strikes recaptured territory overnight in the southwest suburbs of the battleground city of Aleppo, rolling back the short-lived gains of a rebel offensive.
On July 17, eastern districts of Aleppo came under siege by government forces, while fighting in other parts of the city, which is split between government and militant forces, also escalated recently amid the failure of the fragile ceasefire.
The United States said it was formally investigating an air strike that allegedly killed 15 civilians near the IS stronghold of Manbij, the second such full probe it has launched. We consider the proposal deeply flawed on humanitarian grounds and consider it [a] warning for the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) to urgently step up efforts to end the use of brutal siege tactics and illegal attacks on civilians.
Moscow, meanwhile, hit back at U.S. criticism over Syria, accusing Washington of lacking trust in Russian Federation and not behaving as a true partner.
This tank driven by a Free Syrian Army fighter was spotted in the Ramousah area.
It added that the territory is under rebel control and that shells were fired towards “the residential area” of the Salah-Eddin district.
A watchdog voiced concerns meanwhile over reports of a chlorine gas attack on Tuesday in nearby Saraqeb, close to where Russian Federation said one of its helicopters was shot down the day before, killing the five people on board. Rebel rockets hit a hospital on the government side of the city a few days later.
Humanitarian agencies have several objections to the plan, but foremost among them is the concern that Assad and his allies could use the flight of civilians as justification for an even more indiscriminate campaign against eastern Aleppo, with the argument that those staying behind have chosen to aid “terrorists”, the regime’s catch-all term for the opposition.
There is “fighting in too many places, and that affects the besieged towns more than anything else”, humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland said, adding that the United Nations failed to reach its goal of helping 1.2 million Syrians during the two-month period.
“For the regime also, it’s a question of life or death. They’ve been preparing for this battle for months and it’ll be a tough blow for its troops if they lose”.
Eastern Aleppo, which is under opposition control, has been under a almost month-long siege by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and Iranian-backed militias allied to his government.
Two children were killed and dozens more wounded Thursday in air strikes on Syrian camps for the displaced probably carried out by Russian warplanes, a monitor said.
“Destroying hospitals is tantamount to signing thousands of death warrants for people now stranded in eastern Aleppo”, said Widney Brown, the group’s director of programmes.
One physician told a reporter for al-Jazeera television he was certain the chemical was chlorine because the highly toxic agent has been used against the area in the past.
Advertisement
The last delivery to the opposition-held half of the city, home to an estimated 300,000 people, was in June.
