Rebel-held Aleppo Effectively Under Siege

Rebel-held parts of Aleppo are effectively under siege following an advance by Syrian government forces on Thursday, Reuters reported.

Despite the Syrian army’s call for a 72-hour truce on Wednesday, pro-government forces seized ground overlooking the Castello Road, the only route into rebel-held parts of Aleppo, putting the highway within their firing range; opposition-held parts of the city have lost their last supply link with the Turkish border.

Rebels said they are fighting back and have sent for reinforcements to try to regain their positions, but overnight airstrikes worsened their situation. An official with al-Jabha al-Shamiya (the Levant Front), a rebel grouping based in Aleppo, told Reuters the pro-government forces were mostly Iran-backed Lebanese and Afghan militias.

Up to 300,000 people live in rebel-held Aleppo, according to estimates from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. A U.S. intelligence official told Reuters that the joint Syrian and Russian advance toward Aleppo could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe.

“The purpose of these attacks appears to be a campaign to sever opposition supply lines into the city through Castello Road. This campaign exacerbates an already dire humanitarian situation and sets the stage for a humanitarian catastrophe,” the official said.

Last month, President Bashar al-Assad said he planned to “retake every inch of Syria” from rebel forces.

Jabhat Al-Nusra Official Killed in Clashes Near Lebanese Border

A top military official with Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaida’s affiliate in Syria, was killed during clashes with the Syrian army on Thursday, the Daily Star of Lebanon reported.

The JAN official was identified as Abu Obaida, according to an online statement posted on Twitter from Hezbollah’s War Media Center. He was reportedly killed in Serghaya, a town in the Qalamoun region on the border between Syria and northeastern Lebanon.

Hezbollah has been heavily involved in the Syrian conflict, sending thousands of fighters across the border to join forces loyal to President Assad. Hezbollah and the Syrian army have led a joint offensive in the Syrian-Lebanese border region for the past year.

The Lebanese side of the border has seen a number of extremist attacks since the start of the Syrian conflict, most recently on June 27 when eight suicide bombers detonated their explosives in the Christian-majority border village of al-Qaa, killing five people.

U.S.-Backed Rebels Left Fighting Alone After Jets Divert to Iraq

The New Syrian Army, a United States-backed rebel group, was pushed back into the desert last week after a failed offensive against the so-called Islamic State group.

The NSA was trying to capture al-Bukamal, an ISIS-held town near the Syrian border with Iraq. It is a key component of the militant group’s supply route between territories controlled by the self-proclaimed caliphate in the two countries.

The rebels’ defeat reportedly came after U.S. warplanes were diverted from Syria to strike a target in Iraq, according to the Washington Post.

CNN reported that the Pentagon is looking into the claims. A senior U.S. official said one aircraft from the al-Bukamal battle had been diverted to strike at a suspected large ISIS convoy attempting to leave Fallujah.

The investigation “will see if there are any lessons learned,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter told reporters on Thursday.

U.S. officials also said many NSA fighters had been killed or injured, and some of their weapons may have fallen into ISIS hands during the retreat.

Recommended Reads:

• The Century Foundation: Suppose America Gave a Proxy War in Syria and Nobody Came?
• The Daily Beast: Russia’s Biggest Warship Steams to Syria
• Business Insider: These Maps Show the Progression of Russian Airstrikes in Syria
• IRIN News: Is This Palestinian Refugee Camp Syria’s Next Yarmouk?
• World Politics Review: Despite Long Odds, Syria’s Kurds Push Forward With State-Building Project