Al Khaleej stuns Al Hilal with 3-2 victory, ending 57-match unbeaten run    Turki Al-Sheikh crowned "Most Influential Personality in the Last Decade" at MENA Effie Awards 2024    Saudi Arabia arrests 19,696 illegals in a week    SFDA move to impose travel ban on workers of food outlets in the event of food poisoning    GACA: 1029 complaints recorded against airlines, with least complaints in Riyadh and Buraidah airports during October    CMA plans to allow former expatriates in Saudi and other Gulf states to invest in TASI    11 killed, 23 injured in Israeli airstrike on Beirut    Trump picks billionaire Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary    WHO: Mpox remains an international public health emergency    2 Pakistanis arrested for promoting methamphetamine    Move to ban on establishing zoos in residential neighborhoods    Moody's upgrades Saudi Arabia's credit rating to Aa3 with stable outlook    Al Okhdood halts Al Shabab's winning streak with a 1-1 draw in Saudi Pro League    Mahrez leads Al Ahli to victory over Al Fayha in Saudi Pro League    Saudi musical marvels takes center stage in Tokyo's iconic opera hall    Saudi Arabia and Japan to collaborate on training Saudi students in Manga comics Saudi Minister of Culture discusses cultural collaboration during Tokyo visit    Al Khaleej qualifies for Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship final    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Sitting too much linked to heart disease –– even if you work out    Denmark's Victoria Kjær Theilvig wins Miss Universe 2024    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Scores dead in Aleppo battles
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 19 - 02 - 2015

Rebel fighters chat with each other near the front line against forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad in Ratian village, north of Aleppo, Tuesday. Battles in and around the Syrian city of Aleppo have killed at least 70 pro-government fighters and more than 80 insurgents after the army started an offensive there, a monitoring group said on Wednesday. — Reuters
BEIRUT — Battles in and around the Syrian city of Aleppo have killed at least 70 pro-government fighters and more than 80 insurgents after the army launched an offensive there, a monitoring group said on Wednesday.
The army backed by allied militia had captured areas north of Aleppo on Tuesday in what the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said was an attempt to encircle the northern city and cut off insurgent supply lines.
Aleppo is at the forefront of clashes between the army and a range of insurgents, including Islamist brigades, Al-Qaeda's Syria wing Nusra Front and Western-backed units battling President Bashar Al-Assad.
The UN is seeking a ceasefire there, a step toward addressing the crisis in Syria which is about to enter its fifth year.
The advance on Aleppo is the second major offensive by pro-government forces in a week. The army and allied combatants from Lebanon's Hezbollah group have also launched a large-scale assault in southern Syria against insurgents.
On Wednesday the main route leading north out of Aleppo to the Turkish border was blocked and under fire by pro-government forces, the observatory's founder Rami Abdulrahman said.
"The regime went forward a bit yesterday and the road is still closed," he said. The army was controlling the route from positions it set up in the villages of Bashkuwi and Sifat on Tuesday on either side of the road, he said.
Insurgents can take another route north but it entails going northwest out of the city and circumnavigating army-held areas before heading north again.
"It is the very long way around," he said. He also said poor weather prevented Syrian air force bombardment on Wednesday but fighting continued on the ground.
Casualties on the government side could be higher because 25 of its combatants were unaccounted for, he said. Sixty-six Syrian insurgents from various groups were killed in the fighting, as well as at least 20 from Nusra Front, Abdulrahman said.
Around 60 Syrian soldiers reached the Shiite towns of Al-Zahra and Nubl north of Aleppo after retreating from battles in the town of Ratain on Tuesday, the observatory said.
Fighting had also raged in several Aleppo city districts on Tuesday. SANA, Syria's state news agency, said the army seized at least six villages near Aleppo on Tuesday.
On Tuesday United Nations Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said the government was willing to suspend air strikes and shelling of Aleppo for six weeks so that a local ceasefire plan could be tested. But he played down prospects for wider progress.
"Every time there is a proposal of a ceasefire ... history has proven that there is some type of acceleration in order to take a better position," he said.
"I fear that could be the case,” he added.
The Syrian conflict started in 2011 with protests against Assad and has descended into a civil war, drawing in foreign fighters on both sides. — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.