The Syrian regime’s key ally Russian Federation launched heavy airstrikes overnight on the outskirts of divided Aleppo city, slowing a “last-chance” assault by rebels seeking to break a government siege.
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But the civil war is also being fought daily beyond Aleppo, as Syrian government forces steadily claw back territory around the capital, Damascus, and the worldwide community targets the Islamic State group, though with little visible success.
US officials say the government offer for civilians to flee is an attempt to depopulate rebel-controlled areas, making it easier for the regime to seize them and to further demonstrate the dramatic shift of fortunes in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s favour since Moscow launched its military intervention on his behalf a year ago.
The government, backed by Russian air strikes, brought eastern Aleppo under siege on July 17. Their coordination is focused on targeting al-Qaida’s affiliate in Syria, the Levant Conquest Front, formerly known as the Nusra Front.
Once Syria’s commercial hub, Aleppo has been divided between government forces in the west and rebels in the east since fighting erupted for control of the city in mid-2012.
The rebels on Friday also shelled a nearby, government-controlled neighborhood of Aleppo, killing at least three civilians, according to the Observatory.
Eleven people were killed and dozens others injured Wednesday when Russian warplanes struck opposition-held areas of Syria’s northwestern Aleppo province, a local civil defense official said.
The route used by regime forces and civilians living in government-controlled parts of Aleppo runs through Ramussa, on its southwest outskirts, the main target of the rebel assault. The army said it was the biggest assault by rebels against government-held areas in the past year.
A man walks past a damaged ambulance after an air strike hit Anadan Hospital yesterday, sponsored by the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM), in the rebel held city of Anadan, northern Aleppo province, Syria July 31, 2016. The last delivery to reach those trapped in rebel-held parts of Aleppo – where the United Nations estimates some 300,000 residents remain – was in June, he said.
He said the Russian military had informed the USA about the incident.
A state television reporter said the army had foiled several suicide attacks by Islamist insurgents who approached the academy in Ramousah.
A doctor in Saraqeb who told CNN he treated some of those affected said their symptoms were consistent with chlorine poisoning.
The United States and Russian Federation were in intensive discussions to “shore up” Syria’s collapsed nationwide truce and their military experts were still trying to agree a cooperation plan “that would unlock the entire solution”, Ramzy said.
The global war against the Islamic State group continues to be the priority for foreign governments involved in Syria.
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Half the country’s population has been forced to flee their homes with an estimated 5 million seeking refuge in neighbouring countries.
