ALEPPO: Syria’s army pushed forward in Aleppo on Sunday as thousands fled rebel-held areas but its forces lost ground to the south where the IS group recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra.
After a sudden withdrawal by regime forces, IS militants made a lightning-fast advance across Palmyra, sparking new worries for its remaining ancient treasures.
Forces loyal to President Bashar al Assad have been focused since mid-November on second city Aleppo, where they have retaken about 85 per cent of the one-time rebel bastion in the city’s east.
On Sunday, they pounded the shrinking rebel enclave in Aleppo’s southeast with artillery and air strikes, seizing a large part of the Maadi district, a monitor said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 10,000 people had fled the remaining rebel-held districts since midnight, heading to government-run west Aleppo and newly retaken areas in the city’s north and centre.
An estimated 120,000 people have poured out of east Aleppo since late November, according to the Britain-based monitor.
State news agency SANA said at least 4,000 people had fled rebel districts in just hours on Sunday and were taken by bus to temporary shelters.
Heavy bombardment on the east could be heard through the night, rattling windows across the city in the west, a correspondent said.
US and Russian officials were expected to continue talks in Geneva on Sunday on trying to reach a ceasefire in Aleppo, but a week of intense diplomatic efforts have failed to stem the fighting.
Backing from Moscow, which launched an air war in support of Assad last year, has been crucial in the Syrian army’s ability to make gains across the country.
Russian raids overnight bolstered Syrian soldiers fighting off an IS offensive on Palmyra, the renowned Unesco World Heritage site in central Syria. But the militants launched a fresh attack on Sunday, the Observatory said, recapturing all of Palmyra after Syrian armed forces pulled out.
“Despite the ongoing air raids, IS retook all of Palmyra after the Syrian army withdrew south of the city,” said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
The IS-linked Amaq news agency also reported that IS regained “full control” of the city on Sunday after taking the citadel, which overlooks Palmyra from a strategic hilltop.
Capturing Palmyra from IS in May was considered a major symbolic victory for Assad’s forces — and for its Russian ally.
Russia has come under severe criticism in the West for its continued political and military support for Damascus as the regime pursues its all-out assault on east Aleppo. — AFP
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