Opposition were relying on the road for supplies and access, and its severing effectively put opposition-held areas under siege, where at least 250,000 people live.
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Aleppo has been a focus of intensified fighting since a fragile truce eroded and peace efforts broke down earlier this year.
The Syrian army announced Monday evening extending a regime of calm for additional 72 hours, the third consecutive extension to take place recently, state news agency SANA said. “The fight for Castello will continue, and our forces are preparing heavy attacks on the pro-Assad troops there”, rebel spokesman Saleh al-Zein told ARA News in Aleppo.
Kurdish forces control vast areas along the nearby Turkish border, and Islamic State holds territory in the east. State media reported that a rocket barrage on residential areas on the government side of the city killed 44 people Friday night.
Aid agency Mercy Corps said the latest fighting and the nearly immediate breakdown of the announced ceasefire had further constricted access to Aleppo residents, 75,000 of whom in the east of the city rely on its assistance each month.
The army has been pressing its advance to retake the rebels’ sole supply route to the city in heavy fighting.
Russian Federation deployed warplanes to Syria previous year to support President Bashar al-Assad against rebels seeking to end his rule, and have supported Syrian government forces in a separate fight against Islamic State further east.
More than 280,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests that sparked a deadly crackdown.
The Observatory said at least one auto had been targeted on the Castello Road early on Sunday morning, adding it was unclear if it was carrying civilians or fighters.
Russian Federation launched air strikes in support of the Damascus regime in September, one year after the worldwide coalition bombing the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq extended its raids to Syria.
On Tuesday, the United Nations said it was “deeply concerned” about the situation in and around Aleppo. The attacks came as the Syrian military advanced on a key road leading to the al-Qaeda-held parts of the city.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 19 regime forces were killed on Monday when rebels blew up a tunnel in the Old City.
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Over 60 people were killed and hundreds of others wounded over the past few days, when the rebels of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Fornt and likeminded groups rained down Aleppo with hundreds of mortar shells.
