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Syrian rebels break siege of Aleppo by government forces

Their words come the day after they broke a government siege on rebel-held areas in Aleppo, which is Syria’s second-largest city.

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The rebel offensive has been led by Jabhat Fateh al Sham, a radical Islamist group that up until two weeks ago was known as the al Nusra Front.

The statement added that the group “will not rest until we raise the flag of the conquest over Aleppo’s citadel”.

The battle for Syria’s former economic powerhouse is intensifying after an opposition advance at the weekend broke through a three-week government siege of the city’s rebel-held east, dealing a major setback to regime troops.

Activists said the rebels were now attacking further into government held territory but there was still no safe passage for residents to escape from eastern districts, amid fears of food and fuel shortages.

Shortly before sunset Saturday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees said that militants were able to reach besieged areas. The establishment of a corridor into Aleppo, where an estimated 300,000 people still live, preserves for the moment the survival of the opposition enclave.

“The mosaic of different religious communities and ethnic groups has been shattered as the conflict, which initially started as a broad-based, non-violent, pro-democracy movement has descended into sectarian fighting which has divided Syrians from one another”, he said.

State television said the Syrian air force was carrying out strikes around the military academy buildings seized by opposition forces.

The rebel forces victory appears to be short lived with Russian Federation intensifying its bombing campaign in and around the city of Aleppo in order to root out the radical Islamic extremists with ties to a multitude of known terror organizations.

A doctor in rebel-held Aleppo, Farida, who declined to give her last name out of concern for the safety of her family in government held-areas, said an intense bombing campaign is taking place inside the city.

In a separate development, the Syrian Air Force, backed by Russian warplanes, heavily pounded gatherings of Jaish al-Fatah terrorists in Idlib, al-Mansoora, al-Rashideen, and Khan al-Assal, west of Aleppo.

A confederation of Syrian jihadi groups and rebels claimed to have broken the government’s month-long siege of Aleppo Saturday.

Emboldened by their gains, the rebels announced their intention to redouble their efforts to retake all of Aleppo.

The Observatory’s Abdel Rahman said the route into eastern districts is open only to fighters.

“Most recently I’m hearing that the markets are closed and it’s next to impossible to purchase food”, said Christy Delafield, senior communications officer for Mercy Corps.

“The good news is that all the groups participating do not have any links with terror organisations” such as Al-Qaeda and Islamic State group, he said.

“Not a single civilian has left the eastern districts because the road is too unsafe and not secured”, he told AFP. Seven trucks of fruits and vegetables entered the eastern rebel-held districts on Sunday and were quickly purchased by residents.

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Since the opposition alliance launched its offensive on southern Aleppo on July 31, at least 130 civilians and hundreds of fighters from both sides have been killed, said the Observatory.

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