Iraq News

Syria opposition mount fierce defence of key Aleppo district

Opposition fighters put up fierce resistance on Friday (December 2nd) as regime forces pressed an assault on a key district of Syria's Aleppo city, AFP reported.

Regime forces this week captured the city's north-east and were focused on seizing Sheikh Saeed, a large district on the south-east edges.

But opposition fighters put up a strong defence there overnight, rolling back recent regime gains, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"The regime and allied fighters... wanted to take this neighbourhood at any cost, because capturing it would allow them to target all remaining opposition-held districts," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

"But opposition fighters put up ferocious resistance, because they knew they would be trapped if Sheikh Saeed fell," Abdel Rahman added.

Opposition forces are once again in control of at least 70% of the neighbourhood, he said.

Meanwhile, a global coalition of more than 200 civil society groups on Thursday appealed to the UN General Assembly to take action on Syria's war.

The 223 organisations called on UN member states to request an Emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly "to demand an end to all unlawful attacks in Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria, and immediate and unhindered humanitarian access so that life-saving aid can reach all those in need".

The UN on Friday said some 31,500 people had fled their homes in opposition-held east Aleppo since November 24th, with UNICEF estimating that around 60% of them, around 19,000, are children.

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