Warplanes Bomb Aleppo As Fighting Rages Inside City

Warplanes are bombing rebel-held areas north of Aleppo as the Syrian Army shells the besieged Old Quarter of the city in a major offensive.

Rebels and a monitoring group said on October 1 that the air strikes are focusing on major supply lines into rebel-held areas while fighting rages in the Suleiman al-Halabi neighborhood, the front line to the north of Aleppo’s Old City.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group that monitors the war, reported heavy bombardment by government forces and “back and forth” fighting in the Suleiman al-Halabi neighborhood.

Rescue workers in the city said on September 30 that strikes on rebel-held residential areas killed at least 30 people with the use of incendiary and phosphorous bombs, causing extensive damage and fires.

The Syrian military and its allies launched a Russian-backed offensive nearly 10 days ago aimed at capturing rebel-held districts of eastern Aleppo that are home to more than 250,000 people.

Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and a commercial hub before the civil war began in 2011, has been divided into government and opposition sectors for four years.

Full story: rferl

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