Syria’s Aleppo province has always been the seat of intense fighting between Syrian rebels, some of whom the U.S. back, and the Syrian regime backed by Russian Federation.
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Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests – which had erupted as part of the “Arab Spring” uprisings – with unexpected ferocity.
In a pre-emptive move, the group announced last week it had changed its name and disassociated from al-Qaida central – a move dismissed by the U.S., Russian Federation and Syria as merely tactical.
Opposition fighters in a tank as they battle to break the government siege on the Aleppo, Syria, August 2.
In the battlefield, the Syrian opposition said on Thursday that it launched its “fourth phase” of the Aleppo battle. United States officials believe that chlorine was used.
The government siege of opposition-held districts began on July 17 and has raised fears of a humanitarian crisis.
Ramzi Ezzedine Ramzi, Deputy of the U.N. Envoy for Syria, said following the meeting of the International Support Group on Syria, that extensive diplomatic efforts were exerted to reach a humanitarian ceasefire in Aleppo, with hopes it could be announced in the upcoming days.
This assault is a counteroffensive from the Syrian regime forces and Russian allies after moves by rebel forces trying to break the government’s siege that has choked their region.
About 50 rebels and dozens of regime troops have been killed since the assault kicked off on Sunday, according to the Observatory.
Aleppo, once Syria’s most populated city, now holds 300,000 people, including approximately 100,000 children.
Rebel groups operating in the city include so-called moderate factions such as the Free Syrian Army as well as an array of Islamist groups, including Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham, formerly known as al Nusra Front, which recently broke its ties with al Qaeda.
“We are ready to go as soon as we have the pause, and we have a two-way corridor with supplies going into the people in eastern Aleppo, but also western Aleppo, which has now become much more exposed to problems, and which has enormous access problems as well”, he told reporters in Geneva.
Aleppo is often viewed as the weather vane of the Syrian conflict, perhaps now more than ever.
Seizing full control would be the biggest victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in five years of fighting and demonstrate the dramatic shift of fortunes in his favour since Russian Federation joined the war on his side last year. “If they lose, it will be hard for them to launch a new assault to break the siege”, Abdel Rahman said. A number of tents were damaged or burned in the strikes, it added.
A US-led coalition has also been carrying out air strikes against IS in Syria since September 2014.
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Manbij sits on the route between the Turkish border and the eastern city of Raqa, the jihadists’ de facto capital in Syria.
