Syrian army presses Aleppo strikes as rebels cornered

Strikes had halted briefly from Thursday night, when Moscow announced a pause in the regime’s offensive to allow the evacuation of civilians

ALEPPO: Syrian warplanes launched fresh raids on the last rebel-held districts in Aleppo on Friday, as key regime ally Russia vowed the assault would continue until opposition fighters left the battleground city.

Government strikes had halted briefly from Thursday night, when Moscow announced a pause in the regime’s offensive to allow the evacuation of civilians, though artillery fire did not stop.

Syria’s army is three weeks into a battle to retake east Aleppo from rebels who are now confined to just a few neighbourhoods in their former bastion.

The city’s loss would be the biggest blow for the rebels in the nearly six-year-old war, which has killed more than 300,000 people and displaced over half the country’s population.

Tens of thousands of civilians have fled east Aleppo in recent weeks, though the UN said on Friday it had received reports that rebels had blocked some residents from leaving.

It also expressed concern about reports that hundreds of men had gone missing after fleeing to government-held territory.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, reported at least a dozen air strikes on rebel-held neighbourhoods on Friday afternoon. Artillery fire had continued throughout Thursday night and into Friday after Moscow’s announcement.

Syria’s army has captured around 85 per cent of east Aleppo, with rebels and remaining civilians confined to a shrinking space in increasingly grim conditions.

East Aleppo has been encircled by the regime since mid-July, with international aid provisions exhausted and remaining food supplies dwindling even before the assault began. — AFP