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Syrian army steps up Aleppo assault
BEIRUT, Lebanon: Syrian government forces Sunday kept up their blistering assault on rebel-held eastern Aleppo after a divided UN Security Council failed to agree on a truce to “save” the war-battered city.Regime forces and their allies were advancing street by street in the eastern sector which has been out of government hands since 2012. “Clashes on the ground as well as fierce air strikes went on all night and are continuing Sunday, especially in the Sheikh Said district” of eastern Aleppo, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It said regime forces took control of the Jandul crossroads in the northeast of the city. The latest advances aim to clear the way for “a crucial and decisive land offensive,” said the Damascus daily Al-Watan which is close to the government. The army launched its assault on the besieged sector of Aleppo more than two weeks ago with the backing of Russian air strikes, aiming to reunite the city which was Syria’s economic hub before its conflict erupted in 2011. According to the Observatory, air strikes by the regime and its Russian ally have claimed 273 lives, mostly civilians and including 53 children, since the September 22 launch of operations to reunite the government-held west and the east of Aleppo. Another 17 civilians have died in artillery bombardment of eastern districts, says the Britain-based monitoring group. The Observatory, which compiles its information from sources on the ground, said 50 civilians, including nine children, have also died in rebel bombardment of regime-controlled western districts. Posted by: badanov 2016-10-11 |
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