aleppo

By Tom Perry and Vladimir Soldatkin BEIRUT/MOSCOW, April 10 (Reuters) – The Russian air force and Syrian military are preparing a joint operation to take Aleppo from rebels, the Syrian prime minister was quoted saying on Sunday, and an opposition official said a ceasefire was on the verge of collapse. With a U.N. envoy due

BEIRUT, April 10  – Syrian government forces and their allies battled insurgents including Al Qaeda fighters in fierce clashes south of Aleppo late on Saturday, and the rebels advanced taking over two hilltops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Britain-based monitoring group’s director Rami Abdulrahman said this might mark a breakdown in the

BEIRUT, April 6 – The Syrian army and its allies launched a big attack overnight on insurgents south of Aleppo, described as the fiercest government assault in the area since a cessation of hostilities agreement came into effect in February. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based organisation that tracks the war, said air

AMMAN, April 5 – Islamist rebels shot down a warplane on Tuesday in an area south of the city of Aleppo where insurgents are battling the Syrian army and allied militias, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The monitor said a plume of smoke was seen as the plane caught fire before it fell

BEIRUT, April 3 – Syrian rebels and the Al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front have mounted an offensive against Syrian government forces and on Saturday took a strategic hill south of Aleppo from government control, a monitoring group said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the offensive began on Friday, and Syrian government and allied forces

AMMAN, March 7 – At least nine civilians were killed and dozens were wounded on Sunday when mortars and rockets were fired by insurgents on a mainly Kurdish residential quarter in the northern city of Aleppo, the Syrian Kurdish YPG group and a monitor said on Sunday. Spokesperson Redur Xelil, an official from the People’s Protection

By Tom Miles GENEVA, Feb 28  – Syria’s opposition will stick to the cessation of hostilities despite what they said were 15 violations by Syrian government forces on Saturday and more breaches on Sunday, a spokesman for the High Negotiating Committee (HNC) said. “The decision is to remain quiet, not to do anything, and I

BEIRUT, Feb 28  – War planes attacked six towns in Syria’s northern Aleppo province early on Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, a day after a cessation of hostilities agreement took effect. Syrian insurgents said the air strikes were carried out by Russian war planes in support of Syria’s government, but the Observatory

By John Davison and Jeff Mason BEIRUT/WASHINGTON, Feb 25 – Syria’s opposition indicated on Wednesday it was ready for a two-week truce in Syria, saying it was a chance to test the seriousness of the other side’s commitment to a U.S.-Russian plan for a cessation of hostilities. Combatants are required to say whether they will

ANKARA, Feb 17 – Turkey wants a secure strip of territory 10 km (6.2 miles) deep on the Syrian side of its border, including the town of Azaz, to prevent attempts to “change the demographic structure” of the area, Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan said on Wednesday. Syrian government forces backed by Russian air strikes