EVER since Russia entered the Syrian civil war on the side of the Syrian regime led by Bashar al-Assad, rebel groups in Aleppo have been progressively isolated and besieged. In February they lost their main access route to Turkey; and two weeks ago the fighters in the east of the city, with a population of perhaps 250,000, were cut off entirely. It threatened to become the biggest and nastiest siege in the five-year-long war.
Despair, it seems, forced a show of unity by the disparate rebel groups, with striking effect. On the weekend of August 6th-7th, mainstream and jihadist groups used suicide bombers, artillery guns and tanks to break through regime positions. The rebels seized a military complex, captured weapons and ammunition, and opened a narrow corridor into areas that have been under government blockade for weeks.
The lightning advance took Syrian government forces by surprise; they have responded with fury. The regime has stepped up its bombardment of rebel-held parts of the city as it seeks to reverse the opposition’s successes. Activists in eastern Aleppo say that they have counted more than 100 air strikes over the past...Continue reading
Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/2aIXhul
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