Opposition fighters and militant Islamists have waged fierce assaults since July 31 to end the siege, which trapped an estimated 250,000 civilians in Aleppo’s eastern districts.
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Addressing a crowd in St. Peter’s Square after the traditional Angelus prayer, the pontiff addressed the battles that have broken out in the northern city of Aleppo between rebels and supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government.
Since mid-July, the rebel-held areas of the divided city have been under siege amid concerns of an imminent humanitarian crisis.
Two rebel groups said on Saturday they had broken the siege, but a monitoring group and pro-government online media outlets denied the claim.
Abdel Rahman said the advance had left the regime forces “in a very hard position despite Russian air support”.
On Sunday, rebel forces brought seven pick-up trucks full of fruit and vegetables into the eastern districts of Aleppo to be distributed to local markets, an opposition fighter said.
Videos released by rebel groups claim to show gun battles as insurgents moved into buildings in the complex.
“The Syrian Democratic Forces took control of Manbij on Saturday and are combing the city in search of the last remaining jihadists”, said the Observatory.
“There are no safe routes for civilians in government-held districts to use to get into or out of the city”, he told AFP. Around 500 fighters from both government and rebel forces have been killed in the latest wave of attacks, the SOHR said.
“When the Syrian army attempts to prevent the opposition and other groups from entering the city, the bombing and shelling is really close to us”, said Sister Anne-Francoise.
Aki said: “Weapons coming from an unidentified source are transported from the Russian-controlled Hmeimim airport to areas controlled by the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, nearly on a daily basis”.
“Now I’m more optimistic after the Army of Conquest’s advance”.
The fresh development came after an array of extremist groups, mainly the Fateh Army, succeeded to storm parts of the artillery college base in southern Aleppo, engaging in intense battles with the Syrian army in that base and the adjacent military colleges.
Syria’s conflict erupted in March 2011 with protests against Assad’s rule but has since evolved into a brutal war that has drawn in world powers. “The rebel-held areas are in the east of the city”.
Separately, the observatory said an air strike on a hospital in Meles, over 15km (9 miles) from Idlib city, killed 10 people on Saturday (6 August), including children.
A spokesman for the Manbij Military Council – a key component of the SDF – said fighting was still ongoing in the town.
A spokesman for the USA coalition against Islamic State told Reuters there had been “continued progress” in Manbij, and the coalition would continue to support the SDF for as long as the operation took.
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Russian Federation and the United States support opposing sides in Syria’s civil war, which has left 280,000 people dead and forced half the population to flee their homes.
