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Truce Reaches Violent End, Opposition Forces Advance in Aleppo | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Smoke rises after strikes on Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) controlled Tell Rifaat town, northern Aleppo province, Syria October 21, 2016. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi


Beirut- Syria pro-regime forces renewed their campaign against sieged northern Aleppo neighborhoods on Sunday. Syrian Opposition fighters countered fierce attacks staged against the city’s Salaheddine and Amiriyah Districts.

Regime head Bashar al-Assad’s Iran-backed forces made an advance across Aleppo’s rural south areas.

There was fierce fighting between insurgents and Assad fighters and allied forces along a strategic frontline in southwest Aleppo.

In August, opposition forces briefly broke through this regime-held strip of land to try to break a siege on opposition-held eastern Aleppo enacted in July.

Syrian or Russian air strikes hit a number of rebel-held areas just west of Aleppo city from dawn on Sunday. Air raids also hit north of Aleppo and deeper into west Aleppo countryside, the Observatory said.

Not a single civilian has been able to flee opposition-held East Aleppo as the third day of a humanitarian ceasefire initiated by Moscow and Damascus came to an end, RT’s correspondent on the ground reports. Lack of insurances and guarantees on security had forced most noncombatants to hold their ground inside the city.

Aleppo has been a major battleground in the Syrian conflict, now in its sixth year. Syrian regime head Assad, backed by the Russian military, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and an array of Shi’ite militias, wants to take full control of the city.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) opposition alliance, which has said it is preparing for a big attack to break the siege of eastern Aleppo, warned residents in and around the city to stay away from Syrian regime military buildings for their own safety in a statement on Saturday.

FSA opposition groups said in statements they had repelled various offensives by government and allied forces along the frontline separating rebel- from government-held Aleppo city late on Saturday.