Syrian Army recaptures territory north of Aleppo
Syria's
army seized an area north of Aleppo on Sunday and killed insurgents in
battles for the strategic territory, a group monitoring the war and
state media reported.
Syria's second city is at the heart of a
fierce battle between pro-government forces and a range of insurgents,
including Al Qaeda's Syria wing, extremist brigades and Western-backed
rebels.
The United Nations Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura is
seeking a local ceasefire in Aleppo to allow badly-needed humanitarian
assistance into the divided
northern city.
Insurgent-held
districts have been flattened by Syrian air force bombardments,
including barrel bombs - crude explosive devices packed with shrapnel
and nails.
Pro-government forces captured an area east of Al
Malah farms outside Aleppo and is now aiming to secure parts in the west
and cut off insurgent supply lines into the city, the Britain-based
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
It said 21 fighters
from extremist groups including Al Qaeda's Nusra Front were killed when
Syria's army attacked their positions with backup from local and foreign
militias.
It added that there were also battles south and east of the city.
Syria's state news agency said the army was tightening its "grip on terrorists in Aleppo after
new advances."
It
said pro-government forces had captured all of the Al Malah area as
well as areas south and west of Handarat town in the countryside and
reported that a "huge number" of enemy fighters had been killed.
Western
diplomats have voiced concerns about the ceasefire plan, saying it
could be used by the government to take full control of the city and
force rebels to surrender, as it did through a previous initiative in
the central city of Homs, and then direct its forces elsewhere.
Source: timesofoman
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