Syrian forces encircle rebels in Aleppo stronghold

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Syrian rebels trying to fight off an army offensive in Aleppo said on Tuesday they were running low on ammunition as President Bashar al-Assad's forces encircled their stronghold at the southern entrance to the country's biggest city.

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"The Syrian army is trying to encircle us from two sides of Salaheddine," said Sheikh Tawfiq, one of the rebel commanders, referring to the southwestern neighbourhood which has seen heavy fighting over the last week.

Mortar fire and tank shells exploded across the district early on Tuesday, forcing rebel fighters to take cover in crumbling buildings and rubble-strewn alleyways.

Tanks have entered parts of Salaheddine and army snipers, using the cover of heavy bombardment, deployed on rooftops, hindering rebel movements.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/08/07/uk-syria-crisis-idUKBRE86H18C20120807

[maddezmom]

1. More than 1,300 Syrian flee to Turkey as fighting spreads to new areas in key city of Aleppo

More than 1,300 Syrian flee to Turkey as fighting spreads to new areas in key city of Aleppo

By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, August 7, 9:07 AM

KILIS, Turkey — More than 1,300 Syrians fled to Turkey overnight to escape the civil war as rebels tried to expand their hold inside Syria’s largest city despite two weeks of withering counterattacks by President Bashar Assad’s troops.

Assad, meanwhile, met in Damascus with an envoy from key ally Iran and was quoted by Syrian official media as vowing to fight on.

Heavily armed government troops have been steadily shelling rebel-controlled parts of Aleppo, particularly Salaheddine and other districts on the southwestern edge of the strategic city.

Aleppo-based activists said clashes were going on Tuesday near the historic city center. That suggests the rebels were making some inroads in Aleppo, which lies some 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Turkish border.

more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-activists-say-fighting-in-aleppo-is-spreading-as-rebels-try-to-gain-more-ground/2012/08/07/8c5360f0-e06f-11e1-8d48-2b1243f34c85_story.html

[Comrade Grumpy]

2. Syria: Mig fighter jets bomb Aleppo as rebels dig in

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/06/syria-regime-jets-aleppo-rebels

The attack came just after 2pm on Monday; two Soviet era Mig fighter jets swept in low from the west, then banked and made a run at the schoolhouse. The impact of the bombs was devastating on the two homes they struck. Fabricated concrete spilled across the street and a nine-year-old girl lay dismembered in the ruins.

The first stronghold established by the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the war-torn city of Aleppo had been hit by regime jets, in an attack that failed to take out the rebel leadership but instead killed nine members of a family in a nearby house. For the past week rebel fighters and leaders had been coming and going from the school, which they had commandeered in the city's north-east. They had brought prisoners there, built up a large arsenal of looted weapons on a lower floor and brazenly parked a tank and anti-aircraft gun outside.

<snip>

The reach of the guerilla force has since extended to what they claim is more than 60% of the city. But the rebels seem to be driven by little more than enthusiasm. Planning to hold their gains in the face of an imminent regime counter-assault is haphazard at best. Strategy seems anchored more in hope than vision.

<snip>

The departing rebels in Aleppo had adopted different methods. Screams from some captives, particularly those thought to have been members of the loyalist Shabiha militia, have echoed throughout the night in recent days. Late on Monday one of the alleged spies was brought in, a terrified woman in her late 20s whose hair had been cut leaving unruly strips on an almost bald scalp.

The residents wandering the streets near the schoolhouse hours before breaking their fast didn't seem to mind that the rebels were leaving.

[dipsydoodle]

3. Syrian rebels pull back in Aleppo district

(Reuters) - Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad's forces in the northern city of Aleppo have abandoned at least one position in a battered district where fighting has raged for days.

"We have retreated, get out of here," a lone rebel fighter yelled at Reuters journalists as they arrived on Wednesday in the Salaheddine district. Nearby checkpoints that had been manned by rebel fighters for the last week had disappeared.

A Syrian government security source told Lebanon's Al-Manar television that its forces were now in control of the district, but an opposition watchdog, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said clashes were still occurring there.

Abu Firas, a member of the rebel Free Syrian Army, said the insurgents had left only one building in Salaheddine.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/08/08/uk-syria-crisis-idUKBRE86H18C20120808

[maddezmom]

4. Syrian rebels ring Aleppo enclave with roadside bombs

Aleppo, Syria (CNN) -- Syrian rebels standing firm against strong government firepower in a volatile neighborhood of Aleppo Wednesday began setting up roadside bombs designed to disable regime tanks.

The locale is Salaheddine, a center of fighting between the government and Free Syrian Army rebels in Syria's most populous city.

¬snip¬

Rebel commanders preparing for a massive ground assault realize that Syrian tanks might be at a disadvantage when they enter Salaheddine because the enclave has a warren of narrow streets and alleyways.

More fighters streamed into the area after rebels put out a call for reinforcements and fighters are building improvised explosive devices and placing them at strategic locations. FSA commanders hinted that rebels learned how to building the bombs from jihadis who battled American forces during the Iraq war.

more:http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/08/world/meast/syria-unrest/

[ellisonz]

5. They have no chance.