Syria now in control of 60% of east Aleppo: Group
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Syrian forces set up an outpost in the city of Aleppo’s eastern neighborhood of Sakan al-Shababi after retaking it from militants, December 2, 2016. (Photo by AFP)
Syrian forces have retaken another district in the east of the city of Aleppo, now exerting control over 60 percent of the city’s terrorist-held eastern part, according to a monitoring group.
Joined by allied fighters, the Syrian military seized Aleppo’s Tariq al-Bab neighborhood from the terrorists, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday.
The advance also restored control on a road leading from Aleppo’s government-held western neighborhoods to the city’s airport, which is also under government control.
Foreign-backed terrorists amassed in the city’s eastern side in 2012. The government has been controlling its west and fighting to retake the east.
The official Syrian Arab News Agency said the military had also wrested back control over the Karam Al-Qaterji, Jazmati, and Halwaniyah neighborhoods in eastern Aleppo. An unspecified number of the terrorists were killed in the operations.
The government’s advances have taken by surprise many of the foreign states that have been channeling financial and military support to the terrorists since the onset of the foreign-backed militancy in Syria in 2011.
Amid the victories, some countries, including France, have called for the implementation of a ceasefire in Aleppo, citing a need for secure corridors for the transfer of humanitarian assistance to the city.
ME
