PHOTO: Fire burns in Mare’ in northern Aleppo Province after Russian airstrike on Saturday


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Rebels in Aleppo Province in northern Syria are facing an increasingly difficult situation, as they are attacked by three different sides — all directly or indirectly assisted by Russian bombing — in the 58-month conflict.

Russian warplanes carried out more attacks on rebel positions in northern Aleppo on Sunday. The attacks were not only near rebel frontlines with regime forces, but also close to the battlefield between rebels and the Islamic State and near escalating Kurdish-led clashes with rebel factions.

The Local Coordination Committees reported airstrikes near Mare’, Azaz, Daret Izza, Andan, Bianoun, and Tal Rifaat.

Since 2012, rebels have fought the Syrian military for control of Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, and the surrounding province. From January 2014, they were at war with the Islamic State, with the current frontline close to the town of Mare’ on the Turkish border.

Last month a dissident faction, Jaish al-Thuwar, seized several villages in northern Aleppo Province. Kurdish militia clashed with rebels between the Kurdish canton of Afrin, northwest of Aleppo city, and the opposition-held town of Azaz near a border crossing with Turkey.

A ceasefire was agreed in early December but was broken last week as Jaish al-Thuwar and Kurdish forces recaptured two villages.

See Syria Daily, Jan 2: A Kurdish Battle with Rebels?

Rebel territory in green, surrounded by Kurdish area (yellow), Islamic State (grey), and regime (pink):

NORTHERN ALEPPO MAP 01-16


Video: Destruction Amid Continued Fighting in Sheikh Miskeen

Destruction from Russian and regime airstrikes in the town of Sheikh Miskeen, south of Damascus:

Last week the Syrian military moved into Sheikh Miskeen, near the highway from Damascus to Daraa on the Jordanian border, but it has been unable to claim all of the town.


Video: Kafranbel Protesters Appeal for Those Threatened with Starvation Near Damascus

Protesters in Kafranbel in northwest Syria appeal for help for the 40,000 residents in besieged Madaya, southwest of Damascus:

Local activists in Madaya have said that more than 20 people have died from starvation and hundreds of infants are at risk, as the Syrian military tightens restrictions on food and supplies.

See Syria Feature: Threat of Starvation in Another Town Near Damascus


Prominent Faction Leaves Jaish al-Fateh Rebel Bloc

The faction Faylaq al-Sham has left the Jaish al-Fateh rebel bloc, which controls much of northwest Syria.

Faylaq al-Sham, which has ties to Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood, issued a statement on Saturday saying that it was departing to relocate forces in Aleppo Province. However, observers also believe that the group may have departing because it believes Jaish al-Fateh’s rhetoric is increasingly jihadist.

Ahrar al-Sham remains the largest faction in Jaish al-Fateh, which led the rebel takeover of Idlib Province this spring.