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Friday, April 29, 2016, Baishakh 16, 1423 BS, Rajab 21, 1437 Hijri


Army readies Aleppo offensive as civilian toll rises to 38
US and Russia urged to save Syria talks
Published :Friday, 29 April, 2016,  Time : 12:00 AM  View Count : 26
ALEPPO, Apr 28 : The Syrian army was preparing an offensive on Thursday to retake the whole of Aleppo, as fighting in the divided second city killed 38 civilians in a new blow for a tattered truce.
Nearly 200 people have been killed in Aleppo in the past week as rebels have pounded government-held neighbourhoods with rocket and artillery fire and the regime has hit rebel areas with air raids.
UN envoy Staffan de Mistura warned the hard-won February 27 ceasefire was now "barely alive" and pleaded for urgent action by its co-sponsors Russia and the United States to rescue it.
But pro-government newspaper Al-Watan said the army was now poised for a "decisive battle" for Aleppo and the surrounding province which would begin in the coming days.
"Now is the time to launch the battle for the complete liberation of Aleppo," the paper said in an editorial, adding that the campaign "will not take long to begin, nor to finish."
A source close to the regime told AFP the offensive would begin in the next few days.
"The army is preparing a huge operation in the coming days to push the rebels away from the city by encircling it and creating a security zone," the source said.
Rebels have controlled eastern districts of Aleppo since 2012, while western neighbourhoods are held by the regime.
Control of the surrounding province is divided between a myriad of armed groups -- jihadists of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, Kurdish militia and various rebel factions as well as the army.
'Humanitarian disaster'
The upsurge in violence in and around Aleppo has severely holed the February ceasefire between the government and non-jihadist rebels and cast a shadow over the UN envoy's hopes of convening a new round of peace talks next month.
Rebel rocket and artillery fire on government-held neighbourhoods on Thursday killed 18 civilians, including two children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Regime air strikes on rebel-held districts, including the densely populated Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, killed 31 civilians, including three children, according to the British-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources on the ground. ?AFP











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