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Rebels claim to have broken through siege of Aleppo in Syria

Mohammed Khandakani, a resident of opposition-held Aleppo who accompanied the fighters to the frontline Saturday, said heavy bombing on the aeronautics school resulted in massive explosions.

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Civilians still remained trapped on Sunday however, as the road, under regular attack, was not yet safe enough for them to use.

Syrians living in London also took to the streets to celebrate news of the end of the siege, honking their auto horns and carrying the version of the Syrian flag used by rebels and government opponents. CNN could not independently verify the content of the video.

Images from eastern Aleppo on Sunday showed people cheering in the streets at the rebel victory.

“Whether this is just a temporary setback for the Syrian regime or a turn of the tide, they are no doubt going to continue to unleash heavy air power, which as we have seen over the past almost five years has led to huge numbers of civilian casualties”, Zunes said.

Last month, the Syrian government seized the Castillo road, the only route into opposition-held areas in northern Aleppo, prompting a opposition counteroffensive from the city’s south to attempt to break the siege.

The United Nations and humanitarian agencies have said conditions in isolated rebel-held east Aleppo have become very concerning.

“This is the new route that the regime forces are securing as a temporary alternative to the route they previously depended on”, Abdel Rahman said.

But the coalition of rebel fighters broke through regime lines on Saturday, opening a new route into the city’s north-eastern neighbourhoods.

The militant attacks come as Syrian forces continue to advance in Aleppo, which is largely held by militants. The government is just as keen on fully recapturing the city, which has seen fighting for most of conflict that broke out in March 2011 and has left hundreds of thousands of people dead across the country.

The group rebranded itself by declaring it was breaking its long-standing ties with al Qaeda to build closer alliances with other jihadist and rebel groups in Syria.

The “Army of Conquest”, a coalition of rebels and jihadists including the former Al-Nusra Front, said in a statement Sunday it would “double the number of fighters for this next battle”.

“Everyone is staying in the safest room”, said Dr Fatima AlMousalem, whose hospital has been targeted several times in recent weeks.

“Not a single civilian has left the eastern districts because the road is too unsafe and not secured”, he said.

The battle for Aleppo has raged since mid-2012 and is among the fiercest so far in Syria’s chaotic multi-front war, which has killed more than 280,000 people since it erupted five years ago.

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Elsewhere in Aleppo province, US-backed militias have almost captured from ISIS the city of Manbij, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Aleppo.

A woman and child were killed by rebel rocket fire in northern Aleppo Sunday