The Syrian army pounded rebel positions in second city Aleppo on Sunday ahead of a threatened ground assault after boasting its capture of the last rebel-held district of the capital.
Iran appealed for help from governments with ties to the Syrian opposition in securing the release of 48 of its nationals seized from a bus in Damascus as an Arabic news channel aired footage it said was of the Iranians in the hands of rebel captors who charged that their hostages were Revolutionary Guards.
A high-level security source said the army on Sunday completed its deployment of reinforcements to Aleppo, ready for a decisive showdown.
“The war is likely to be long, because there will have to be street battles in order to get rid of the terrorists,” the source told AFP, declining to be named. “All the reinforcements have arrived and they are surrounding the city,” he said. “The army is ready to launch its offensive, but is awaiting orders.”
At least two rebel fighters were killed in early morning clashes in Aleppo, which has already been the scene of heavy fighting since July 20, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Troops shelled rebel-held Salaheddin district in the southwest and clashes erupted in the Sukkari, Hamdaniyeh and Ansari neighbourhoods, the Britain-based watchdog said. The opposition Syrian National Council charged that the army’s bombardment of the rebels was hitting key public institutions in the commercial capital, some of historical significance. “After failing to subdue (rebel forces) in Aleppo… the Syrian regime’s gangs have started to target government institutions and buildings,” the exiled opposition group said. “Some of them have historical and archaeological value.”
Aleppo preserves a raft of historical sites, including its renowned 13th century citadel. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation named the Ancient City a World Heritage Site in 1986. The SNC accused the army of shelling Aleppo’s television building.
