The progress came days after the army severed the last rebel supply route connecting rebel-held areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo, with rebel-controlled parts in the eastern part of the city.
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After some initial rebel advances, government forces backed by Iranian and Hezbollah fighters as well as Russian air strikes have pushed back opposition fighters who include jihadists from Jolani’s faction, now known as the Fateh al-Sham Front.
If successful, the offensive could lead to the rebels imposing their own siege on western Aleppo, which is under government control and may have up to 1.5 million civilians and internal refugees living there.
Washington’s decision not to join the recently launched Moscow-Damascus humanitarian operation in Aleppo reveals the USA real goal of supporting insurgency in Syria, Tarek Ahmad, a member of the Hmeymim group of internal Syrian opposition, told Sputnik. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory said at least 11 people, including five children were killed when bombs were dropped in a market in Atareb.
Despite the continued violence, the United Nations expressed hope on Thursday that developments in the next few days could result in resumed peace talks by the end of the month. While the group is looking to get closer to other rebel factions, they are still considered a terrorist group by Syria and the global community and have so far been explicitly excluded from any peace talks or future peace deals in Syria.
The UN pledge to intensify peace talks comes as The Sun launches our Aid For Aleppo appeal.
According to the Observatory, at least 115 civilians, including 35 children, have been killed in Aleppo since the rebel assault began on Sunday.
The British-based Observatory, which tracks the violence using a network of contacts on the ground, said the jets were believed to be Russian due to their colour and the fact there were several planes flying in formation. Jan Egeland, an adviser to U.N.’s special envoy to Syria, says only 40 percent of planned humanitarian relief was delivered in June and July.
“You can not imagine how people are living inside Aleppo, they are under blockade, they are struggling without water or electricity”, Ahmad said.
Rebels accused the government of carrying out a chemical attack on the town of Saraqeb, south-west of Aleppo, on Tuesday.
The army said it had foiled the attack on the artillery base and two major barracks and that hundreds of insurgents had been killed and much of their equipment and tanks destroyed.
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”, he said.
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The official said the USA continues to be skeptical of Russia’s proposal last week to open three humanitarian corridors to allow civilians and rebels who drop their weapons to leave the area, and for deliveries of first aid and food.
