Rebels launch new offensive to free Aleppo; 500 lose lives

Syrian insurgent groups launched a fresh offensive Saturday seeking to break a government siege on rebel-held neighborhoods in the northern city of Aleppo, triggering intense clashes and airstrikes on the southern edge of the metropolis, the militants and state media said.
An unnamed military official told state news agency SANA that “large numbers” of militants attacked the military college in Aleppo, adding that government forces are defending the sprawling base. SANA said the militant offensive was preceded by a number of car bombs that struck the area.
The government completely closed the main road into the rebel-held areas of Aleppo on July 17, effectively besieging the neighborhoods. The United Nations estimates that between 250,000 and 300,000 residents have been trapped in the besieged, eastern part of Aleppo since mid-July.
The UN and numerous relief organizations have warned of a looming humanitarian catastrophe as conditions there deteriorate.
The powerful Ahrar Al-Sham group, which is taking part in the offensive along with several other factions, posted a video that showed what it said were its fighters inside the college known as the Artillery Academy. An Ahrar Al-Sham fighter in the video claimed that militants are in full control of the college showing destroyed tanks and artillery pieces captured by the gunmen. 
“It is only a matter of hours before we break the siege imposed on our brothers in Aleppo,” an Ahrar Al-Sham fighter said in the video as gunfire could be heard in the background. 
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 500 rebels and government forces have been killed in one week of fierce fighting. 
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights could not give a specific toll, but said the majority of those killed since July 31 were rebels and extremists “because of the aerial superiority of the regime and intense Russian airstrikes.” Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said at least 130 civilians had also been killed since Sunday, most in rebel shelling of government-controlled districts.

Source: Arab News