Peace hopes fade as battle erupts in northern Aleppo

Syrian opposition forces have bombarded regime sites in Aleppo with mortars and homemade rockets, during a brutal engagement in the city’s northern battlefield.

"Tens of mortar rounds have been dropped on regime-controlled sites in downtown Aleppo and neighbourhoods north and west of the city, which led to 10 civilian deaths and 15 casualties among regime fighters," says activist Thaer al-Shamali.

Regime soldiers were killed when a projective hit al-Mafraza military security checkpoint in the downtown neighbourhood of al-Saryan.

Eyewitnesses in the regime-controlled areas of Aleppo say that more 20 mortar rounds were dropped on the old Jamarek area and Faisal Street in the downtown district.

An additional 10 rounds landed on the regime-controlled neighbourhoods of al-Masharqah and al-Ashrafiyah in northern Aleppo, while Nile Street, and al-Zahraa, al-Hamdaniyah in western Aleppo were also targeted.

The Levant Front, an umbrella of opposition groups in northern Syria, launched locally made "hell" rockets on regime sites in eastern Aleppo, close to al-Nayrab military airport.

Northern Aleppo has witnessed a period of quiet over the past few days, with only sporadic clashes and bombing, as the United Nations have attempted to broker a ceasefire.

Regime forces have meanwhile captured several villages from opposition forces in northern Aleppo, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.