Fighting In Aleppo Continues As Hospital Is Attacked

Over a dozen people died in the city of Aleppo as fighting between the forces of Assad and rebel groups started again. The fighting comes amid diplomatic efforts to reinstate the ceasefire in the Syrian city. Following a meeting between Staffan de Mistura, UN envoy for Syria, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia, the latter said a ceasefire may be coming soon.

The two men talked with Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday. The recent flare-up is the worst to happen in the city in the last five years with more than 250 people killed due to clashes and bombardments by Russian warplanes and regime forces.

Rebel forces fired rockets in neighborhoods held by the Assad regime recently. The al-Dabeet obstetrics hospital was one of the buildings hit by the rocket attack, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Syrian military officials.

The death toll reached 16 according to SANA, the state news agency of Syria. On the other hand, the observatory put the death toll at 19 people in territory held by the government. It remains uncertain which group was responsible for the attack, but military officials in Syria said the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front was behind it. The recent fighting resulted to the death of around two dozen people.

The latest attacks in the largest city in Syria saw medical institutions as the main targets. The attack on the al-Dabeet obstetrics hospital followed an attack on a hospital supported by Doctors Without Borders in an area held by the rebels. The attack resulted to the death of at least fifty people, including doctors and the only pediatrician in the area. The Defense Ministry of Russia denied being behind the attack.

Six medical centers were attack in the last week, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Fighting In Aleppo Continues As Hospital Is Attacked - image credit: reuters.com

The Local Coordination Committee said warplanes from the regime attacked areas controlled by the opposition resulting to the death of at least four people. Abu Jassem said people are staying in their houses since warplanes continue to patrol the skies. The local aid agency manager added that they have attempted to deliver assistance to houses for the past three days.

Regime forces are trying to move into rebel-held areas from different directions in an attempt to block the Castello Road, which is the only road connecting the countryside and the rebel-held areas in the city.

Blocking the road will allow government forces to effectively overwhelm the area home to thousands of civilians. Major Yassir Abdelraheem of the Faylaq al-Sham group said regime forces are attacking them from different directions. The rebels are focusing their attention in the defense of the road.

Abdulfatah Al-Hussein of the Mujahedeen Army said rebel forces and the Free Syrian Army have continued to counter the offensive of the regime so far. Regime forces have continued their attempts of blockading rebel-held areas in the city to recapture territory through starvation and siege for the past few months.

Fighting stopped momentarily following a ceasefire brokered by Russia and the United States on February 27. However, it crumbled and both sides are blaming each other for breaching it.

A ceasefire was extended by the Syrian Army around the city of Damascus for forty-eight hours, but it did not include Aleppo. Last month, Prime Minister Wael al Halqi of Syria said government forces are prepared to retake the city of Aleppo with the support of the Russian air force.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday May 04 2016, 4:17 PM EDT. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Uncategorized. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0