Government Forces Advance in Aleppo

Russian-backed Syrian government forces have taken back two villages and two hills from rebels on the southwestern edge of Aleppo, Al Jazeera reported.

Forces allied with the government launched a counterattack to recapture territories from the recent rebel offensive in Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said. The counterattack in Aleppo’s southwestern districts was confirmed by Syrian state-run media.

On Sunday, a campaign by various rebel forces took positions from the army and pro-government forces in an attempt to lift the siege on rebel-held Aleppo.

At least 40 civilians have been killed on both government and rebel sides of Aleppo since Sunday, according to the U.K.-based SOHR, in addition to nearly 50 rebel fighters and dozens of government troops.

The city, Syria’s largest, has been split between a rebel-held east and government-held west since 2012. Eastern Aleppo fell under siege last month after a government advance backed by Russian airstrikes cut off the last supply route, Castello Road.

Hezbollah Says Syria Could Be Partitioned

Sectarian fighting in the region could lead to the partitioning of Syria and Iraq, a senior official of Lebanon’s Hezbollah told Reuters.

“So far the forces that want the unity of Iraq and Syria are able to prevent the idea of partition but we should remain worried about … the possibility that some countries might push these two countries or one of them into partition,” said Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Qassem.

Qassem added that he had little hope the fighting in Syria would stop before the U.S. presidential elections in November. He also said Hezbollah, Iran and Russia would continue to stand by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah group fights in Syria along with pro-government forces against rebels supported by both western and regional backers including Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Regarding the intense clashes between rebels and government forces in Aleppo, Qassem said Syria’s second largest city was not an immediate goal, but an objective.

Worst Week for Aleppo Hospitals Since Start of Conflict

Syrian government forces and their Russian allies used airstrikes to target six medical facilities in opposition-held areas of Aleppo within one week, Reuters reported.

The week of July 23 was the worst for medical facilities in Aleppo, said the global nonprofit Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). The attacks constituted a war crime, said Widney Brown, director of programs at the New York-based organization.

“Since June, we’ve seen increasing reports of attacks on civilians in Aleppo and strikes on the region’s remaining medical infrastructure,” he said in a statement.

Eastern, opposition-held Aleppo fell under siege after a government advance backed by Russian airstrikes cut off the last supply route to the city in early July. Russia said it would open humanitarian corridors out of the rebel-held parts of the city for civilians and surrendered fighters last week. A few days later, however, rebels launched a new offensive on government positions in Aleppo’s southwestern outskirts, in an attempt to break the siege.

“The bombings, the lack of humanitarian aid and the failure of the United Nations to deliver any kind of assistance means the death toll may soon be catastrophic,” Brown said.

Recommended Reads

• The New York Times: No Easy Target: U.S. and Russia Take On Nusra Front Fighters in Syria
• Foreign Affairs: Learning the Hard Way in Syria
• Al Jazeera: Conflict Within a Conflict: Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud
• Voice of America: Amid Syria’s Civil War, Kurds Enjoy Newfound Language Freedoms
• SciDevNet: Syria’s Wheat Shortage Deepens