Putin’s plan, following the Grozny model that Russian Federation used in the war in Chechnya, is to drive as many people out of Aleppo as possible, to where they can be easily targeted and killed by missiles and chlorine-laden barrel bombs, and then call anyone remaining in the city a “terrorist”, and flatten the entire city, killing hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.
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Despite more than 600 Russian strikes, the regime forces were not able to hold on to their positions.
Rebel and regime forces have fought to control the provincial capital since mid-2012, transforming Syria’s former economic powerhouse into a divided, bombed-out city.
The group said it planned to “liberate all of Aleppo” from government troops after its success reopening a route into besieged eastern neighborhoods, where an estimated 250,000 civilians are trapped. The Hezbollah Brigades have deployed some 1,000 fighters on Sunday, an official said. The al-Nujaba militia announced on its Facebook page that it sent 2,000 fighters.
After days of ferocious fighting in what it has named “The Great Battle for Aleppo”, the Islamist-led rebel coalition known as Jaysh al Fateh broke through government lines in southwest Aleppo Saturday, capturing the strategic district of Ramouseh.
The Observatory, in its report on the Aleppo fighting, said opposition groups had taken control of the Weaponry College, the main Artillery College, the Air Force Technical College and the Ramousah Garage area.
‘GOOD NEWS.’ Syrian gather in a street in Aleppo on August 6, 2016, to celebrate. “And the reason we managed to do that is simply because we, the revolutionary forces, chose to be united and act as united”.
Over the weekend, the Syrian government attempted to retake several districts in Syria’s second-biggest city.
Meanwhile, almost all of the strategic northern city of Manbij, in Aleppo province, has been seized by US-backed militias after a more than a two-months’ long offensive against ISIS militants, the observatory and a military official said. He says consumer items would continue to be delivered to meet the residents’ needs.
The UN and humanitarian agencies have said conditions in isolated rebel-held east Aleppo have become very concerning.
The push comes after the rebels broke a three-week government siege of Aleppo.
Although the regime still has access to western Aleppo through the north, the route is not safe enough for civilians trying to escape the fighting to pass, SOHR head Rami Abdurrahman told Reuters.
“This is the new route that the regime forces are securing as a temporary alternative to the route they previously depended on”, Abdel Rahman said.
They will be the first fresh supplies since pro-Assad troops surrounded the rebel-held eastern part of the city on 17 July. It said no aid convoys to the opposition area were forthcoming. The Castillo road remains under government control but activists say it regularly comes under fire.
On Monday six Russian long-range Tupolev Tu-22M3 bombers dropped fragmentation bombs on so-called Islamic State (IS) targets north-east of Palmyra, an ancient site 211km (131 miles) south of Aleppo, Russia’s Defence Ministry said.
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One strike near Sukhna destroyed a command post and large field camp.
