PHOTO: A rebel armored vehicle moves on the southern Aleppo front on Tuesday
LATEST
- Russian-Regime Missiles Destroy Another Civil Defense Center
- In Besieged Darayya, A Month’s Salary for A Kilo of Sugar
- Video: Girl Rescued from Under Rubble in Idlib City
- Video: Kurds-Led Force at Southern Entrance of ISIS-Held Manbij
WEDNESDAY FEATURE
1st-Hand: “I Thought I Was Dead” — Journalist Survives Aleppo’s Bombs
Syria’s rebels have advanced again on the front south of Aleppo city, seeking their fourth significant victory against pro-Assad forces in the last two months.
The rebel bloc Jaish al-Fatah renewed its offensive on Tuesday morning. They struck from territory east of Khan Tuman, the town near the Aleppo-to-Damascus highway that they captured last month.
By nightfall, the rebels and Jabhat al-Nusra had taken the village of Zaytan and were threatening the villages of Birnah and Kalasah.
Pro-Assad forces have responded with heavy shelling. This morning rebels pulled back from Zaytan to concentrate on Kalasah.
Latest reports indicate that, after operations including two Jabhat al-Nusra car bombs, rebels hold the northern part of Kalasah.
The capture of Kalasah would be especially significant, as it would open the way to attack the town of al-Hadher to the south.
Al-Hadher was the major gain of the regime-Russian-Iranian-Hezbollah offensive last autumn. Rebels and the jihadists of Jabhat al-Nusra have now retaken most of the territory lost in those attacks, enabled by thousands of Russian airstrikes.
See videos from Tuesday’s fighting
Jaish al-Fatah has inflicted a series of defeats on the Iranian units and Iranian-led Iraqi and Afghan militias who hold the southern Aleppo front for the Assad regime. In early April, rebels took al-Eis on the Aleppo-to-Damascus highway. A month later, they moved into Khan Tuman, inflicting score of casualties on the Iranian-led forces, and two weeks after that, they advanced to the east, taking more villages and fuel and ammunition depots.
The rebels have been successful despite intense airstrikes by the Russians as well as regime warplanes. Local sources said on Sunday that Hezbollah units, who had moved to southern Syria this spring, are redeploying in Aleppo Province to try and turn the tide of the war.
Overhead footage of rebel movement on Tuesday:
A report from the battlefield:
Russia-Regime Air Assault Continues
As rebels advanced, Russian and Syrian warplanes continued their intense assault on opposition areas in and near Aleppo, which has killed hundreds of civilians in the past two weeks.
The Local Coordination Committees documented another 33 deaths in Aleppo Province on Tuesday, among 65 across Syria.
A boy cries, “Why, God, why?” over the body of his older brother:
More scenes of mourning and consolation of the wounded:
Russian-Regime Missiles Destroy Another Civil Defense Center
The Civil Defense Center in Kafr Takharim in Idlib Province has suspended services after six missiles struck the building on Wednesday morning.
The head of civil defense for the area, Abu Shadi, said, “The center was completely destroyed while six members of the Civil Defense team suffered serious injuries. The missiles killed a child as he was playing close by to the center.”
Five people were injured, while three ambulances and a fire truck were destroyed.
In Besieged Darayya, A Month’s Salary for A Kilo of Sugar
The opposition website Syrian Observer reports on soaring food prices in the Damascus suburb of Darayya, bombarded and besieged since November 2012.
A local correspondent said merchants are now selling one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of sugar for almost 20,000 Syrian pounds ($90), while the price of a pack of cigarettes has exceeded 10,000 pounds ($45).
The average salary for a worker in Syria’s public sector averages around 25,000 Syrian pounds. However, most of Darayya’s 4,000 to 8,000 residents have no employment.
Prices of wheat, barley, and vegetables have also increased as the regime’s bombing destroyed 90% of local crops.
The first aid convoy with food since November 2012 reached the town last Thursday. The 480 parcels are expected to feed about 2,400 people for a month.
Video: Girl Rescued from Under Rubble in Idlib City
Amid Russian and regime bombing which has killed dozens of civilians in Idlib city this week, a girl is rescued from under rubble:
See Syria Daily: Hours After “Truce”, Regime’s Missiles Kill Dozens in Idlib
Video: Kurds-Led Force at Southern Entrance of ISIS-Held Manbij
Footage of clashes at the southern entrance of the city of Manbij, the Islamic State’s main position in Aleppo Province:
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces launched an offensive two weeks ago to move into the city. They are presently on the outskirts, reportedly holding up a further advance because of fear of civilian casualties.
The SDF is led by the Kurdish militia YPG and supported by US arms, ammunition, special forces, and airstrikes.
