Syrian Rebels Have Launched an Assault on a Vital Aleppo Supply Route

The fighters from the Faylaq al-Sham Islamist faction and Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front were killed trying to reopen the Castello Road, which regime forces effectively severed on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

The rebel offensive began at dawn, an AFP correspondent said, reporting heavy clashes between regime and opposition forces along the front line of the northern city.

A United Nations spokeswoman says that intensified fighting between Syrian government forces and rebels in contested Aleppo has completely cut off the only road allowing access for humanitarian aid deliveries into the rebel-held part of the city.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports that rebels attempted to regain control of the Castello Road, the only supply route into the eastern part of the city they control, which had been severed by the forces of President Bashar al-Assad’s government.

“Russian and regime warplanes are shelling the northern edges of the city and the regime seized several buildings in Leramun”, said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman. The rebels responded with shelling of government-held neighborhoods and intense street fighting.

Air strikes in Raqqa, Syria have killed at least 12 people, among them fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), as well as civilians and four children from one family, according to activist groups.

“This eggplant and zucchini is grown here inside Aleppo”, he said, gesturing to his meagre stock.

The ongoing fighting comes despite a nationwide truce declared by the government last Wednesday, to coincide with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Residents also described searching in vain for fuel, whether for vehicles or home use.

The United Nations says almost 600,000 Syrians live in besieged areas of the country, most surrounded by government forces, although rebels also use the tactic.

IS fighters also claimed a suicide attack on a rival rebel group in the town of Dumeir, east of Damascus, on Sunday that killed 16 people.

Fierce fighting in Syria’s Idlib province has left up to 30 people dead.