Battle for Aleppo: 700 fighters killed in a week of clashes

More than 700 rebels and pro-regime forces have been killed in one week of fierce fighting to control Aleppo, a monitor said on Saturday.

according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights at least 200 fighters were killed on Saturday alone.

A coalition of rebel forces started last Sunday a wide military operation to break Assad regime’s siege on the eastern parts of the city, after Assad regime cur the last supply route trapping 300.000 civilians.

Rebel forces said that 150 pro-regime fighters were killed on Friday in their military operation on the Artillery College.

“Assad regime’s soldiers are very coward. They know for sure that they can not fight us face to face. Russia, which is a major power, has been providing Assad regime with all kinds of weapons and ammunition for years. The result is as you see. Assad terrorists abandoned their positions and turned in flight after they knew that we were launching our major offensive,” one of Fatth al-Sham fighters told Orient News correspondent.

“We are on the offensive, we will never be on the defensive,” a fighters from Ahrar al-Shma commented on his group offensive on Assad regime’s positions.

The nest videos were published by rebel groups and shows targetting of pro-regime militias.

Syrian rebels break the siege

Syrian rebels have announced that rebels have broken Assad regime’s siege on the rebel-held parts of Aleppo.

The Turkey-based Syrian National Coalition said on Twitter on Saturday: “Rebels break Aleppo’s siege”.

The Ahrar al-Sham rebel group also posted on Twitter that rebels had seized control of Ramousa on the southwestern edges of the city and thereby “opened the route to Aleppo”.

Zouhir al-Shimale, a journalist in Aleppo, told Al Jazeera that the siege has “practically been broken”.

A coalition of armed anti-government groups, the Army of Conquest, announced on Friday it had taken control of a strategic military base in Ramousa.

At around 12pm local time on Saturday, a car bomb exploded in al-Amiriya, at the edge of the besieged part of the city, he said.

Al-Shimale said the area between Ramousa and al-Amiriya is now all under the control of the rebels.

An AFP journalist in eastern Aleppo city said residents were on the streets and shooting celebratory gunfire into the air.

“Days ago, I was only thinking about how to get a bite to eat,” said Ahmad Adna, a 46-year-old resident of eastern Aleppo.

“Now I’m more optimistic after the (rebel) Army of Conquest’s advance. I hope today will be the last day of the siege.”