The battle for control of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo continues to intensify with airstrikes, ground offensive and shelling. The fierce fighting between rebels, alongside al-Qaeda linked jihadists, and the Syrian government and allied forces step up efforts to gain control along a strategic frontline in the area southwest of the besieged city. In August rebels briefly broke through this government-held strip of land to try to break a siege on rebel-held eastern Aleppo, enacted in July.
Aleppo has been a major battleground in the Syrian conflict, now in its sixth year. Syrian President Bashar Assad, backed by the Russian military, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and an array of Shi’ite Muslim militias – including the powerful Hezbollah – seek to assert full control of the city, which was the most significant commercial hub before the war. Russia had declared a unilateral ceasefire from Thursday last week, which was rejected by rebels, lasted three days and did not result in hoped-for medical evacuations from the city or humanitarian-aid deliveries into it.