BEIRUT, Lebanon — Government soldiers made advances in the center of the besieged city of Aleppo on Tuesday, as aerial bombardments by Syria and its ally Russia continued for a fifth day, state-run media and independent observers said.
Syrian state television reported that troops loyal to the government of President Bashar al-Assad had captured the rebel-held neighborhood of Farafra, near the city’s medieval citadel.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an independent monitoring organization based in London, confirmed that government forces had pushed into the center of Aleppo as part of their siege of rebel-held areas in the eastern part of what was once Syria’s commercial capital.
Airstrikes on Tuesday afternoon killed at least 11 people in the Sha’ar and Mashhad neighborhoods in eastern Aleppo, the group reported.
The ground offensive, if confirmed, would represent a major development in the battle for Aleppo, where fighting has raged off and on since 2012.
Social media accounts associated with opposition fighters said the government was exaggerating the magnitude of its advances. Insurgents from groups that identify themselves as the Free Syrian Army said they had blocked an attempt by government forces to advance on the eastern sections of Aleppo’s Old City.
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Hundreds of Thousands of Syrians Are Trapped, Unable to Get Food or Aid
Civilians in these areas have limited or no access to food, medicine and basic necessities.
Rebels have been fortifying the eastern neighborhoods under their control for years, and any ground offensive would likely be long and grinding, international officials have said.
The Syrian military has not demonstrated an ability to quickly take and hold large territories, even with help from thousands of foreign militiamen commanded by Iranian revolutionary guards, including fighters from the militant group Hezbollah and Iraq, as well as a smattering of Russian ground troops and heavy application of Russian and Syrian air power.
Over the last week, Aleppo has been the site of some of the most ferocious fighting in the 5-year-old civil war, following the collapse of a cease-firenegotiated by the United States and Russia.
Mohamed Abu Jaafar Kahil, the head of a medical charity, said in an electronic message that conditions in Aleppo were desperate.
“Hospitals have no more room to receive even one more case, due to the huge number of casualties, of wounded and of martyrs who died today at the hands of barbaric Russian warplanes backed by Syrian warplanes,” he said.
Mr. Kahil recounted “nonstop bombing” by rockets and other artillery, including cluster munitions that are infamous for the indiscriminate way in which they maim and kill. He estimated that dozens had died and hundreds had been wounded.
Bassem Ayoub, an Aleppo resident, reported that food and medical supplies were running out. “Every day is worse then the last,” he said. “Every day I leave my house, I keep in mind that I might not be back. All the people are doing the same here. We’re living day by day.
Humanitarian organizations were trying to make repairs to a water pumping station serving the eastern part of the city. Hanaa Singer, the Syria country representative at Unicef, said that officials were worried that the supply of drinking water might run out, putting 100,000 children at risk of dehydration.
There was no progress on diplomatic efforts to halt the bloodshed. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel denounced the violence but expressed skepticism that a no-fly zone, one of the ideas for stanching the violence, could be instituted.
“What we currently see on the ground is very, very brutal and clearly targeting civilians,” she told reporters in Berlin, The Associated Press said, adding that the attacks over the past several days amounted to a “deep, deep setback.”
“I’m skeptical that in the current situation we can enforce an immediate no-fly zone,” she said. “It clearly now is up to the Assad regime and also Russia to take a step to improve the chances for a cease-fire and humanitarian aid.”
The New York Times
