Syria army readies Aleppo offensive as civilian toll rises

Syrians help a wounded youth following an air strike on the Fardous rebel held neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on April 26, 2016. Nearly 200 people have been killed in Aleppo in the past week as rebels have pounded government-held neighbourhoods with rocket and artillery fire and the regime has hit rebel areas with air raids. AFP PHOTO | AMEER ALHALBI

What you need to know:

  • The Syrian army was preparing an offensive on Thursday to retake Aleppo, as escalating fighting in the divided second city killed dozens of civilians in a new blow to a tattered truce.
  • Nearly 200 people have been killed in Aleppo in the past week as rebels have pounded government-held neighbourhoods with rocket and artillery fire and the regime has hit rebel areas with air raids.
  • UN envoy Staffan de Mistura warned the hard-won February 27 ceasefire was now “barely alive” and pleaded for urgent action by its co-sponsors Russia and the United States to rescue it.
  • But pro-government newspaper Al-Watan said the army was poised for “decisive battle” for Aleppo and the surrounding province while a source close to the regime said the campaign was imminent.

ALEPPO, Thursday

The Syrian army was preparing an offensive on Thursday to retake Aleppo, as escalating fighting in the divided second city killed dozens of civilians in a new blow to a tattered truce.

Nearly 200 people have been killed in Aleppo in the past week as rebels have pounded government-held neighbourhoods with rocket and artillery fire and the regime has hit rebel areas with air raids.

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura warned the hard-won February 27 ceasefire was now “barely alive” and pleaded for urgent action by its co-sponsors Russia and the United States to rescue it.

But pro-government newspaper Al-Watan said the army was poised for “decisive battle” for Aleppo and the surrounding province while a source close to the regime said the campaign was imminent.

“Now is the time to launch the battle for the complete liberation of Aleppo,” the paper said, adding that it “will not take long to begin, nor to finish.”

The regime source told AFP that “the army is preparing a huge operation in the coming days to push the rebels away from the city by encircling it and creating a security zone”.

REBEL CONTROL

Rebels have controlled eastern districts of Aleppo since 2012, while western neighbourhoods are held by the regime.

Control of the surrounding province is divided between a myriad of armed groups - jihadists of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, Kurdish militia and various rebel factions as well as the army.

Further north in the province, rebels including the powerful Islamist Ahrar al-Sham group and Kurdish forces fought fierce battles Wednesday and early Thursday that left 64 fighters dead, a monitor said.

The upsurge in violence in and around Aleppo has severely strained the February truce between the government and non-jihadist rebels and cast a shadow over the UN envoy’s hopes of convening a new round of peace talks next month.

Rebel rocket and artillery fire on government-held neighbourhoods on Thursday killed 22 civilians, including two children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Regime air strikes on rebel-held districts, including the densely populated Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, killed 31 civilians, including three children, according to the British-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources on the ground.

An AFP correspondent said every building in sight in Bustan al-Qasr had had its windows blown out.