Siege of Aleppo: Fighting Rages, Russian Jets Bombard City

Fierce fighting continues around the Syrian city of Aleppo, where rebels are trying to break the siege of areas under their control with an offensive, reports the Patria News Agency.

Over the weekend, rebels attempted to reconnect the besieged eastern area with the area under their control in the west of Syria's largest city. They detonated a powerful bomb in a tunnel beneath the positions of government forces in the strategically important Ramouseh area.

The army retaliated with the help of Russian airstrikes to stop the rebels' advance.

About a quarter of a million civilians have been living under siege in the rebel-controlled area since government forces cut off the area last month.

"Ramouseh is in our sights, but Russian jets have intensified bombing, preventing us from advancing," one of the rebel commanders told Reuters.

Another source from the rebel side told Reuters that about 10,000 soldiers, at least 95 tanks, and several hundred rocket launchers are participating in what he called "the great epic battle for Aleppo".

Sources say a large number of suicide bombers are also being prepared, who will attack government positions with military vehicles full of explosives.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in Great Britain, described the rebel offensive as the largest so far, as it involves fighting in all parts of the divided city.

It is estimated that there are between 250,000 and 300,000 civilians in besieged eastern Aleppo, who, according to the UN, could run out of food by mid-August.

The government in Damascus announced on Thursday that it had opened three humanitarian corridors through which residents could cross to the western sector controlled by the Syrian army, but opposition activists warn that these routes are not safe, writes Index.