(Zaman Al Wasl- Reuters)- The Levant Front rebel group operating in northern Aleppo province said the breaking of the three-year-old siege of the two Shiite villages came only after more than 500 raids by Russian airplanes, Reuters said.
The two towns of Nubl and Zahraa, with an estimated 60,000 population, are connected to the border by areas under the control of Kurdish militias that provided them some access.
Zaman al-Wasl reporter was earlier denied the falling news, saying clashes are still underway in the next-door village of Ma'raset al-Khan.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Russian and Syrian warplanes launched dozens of strikes on the rebel towns of Hayan and Hreitan in northern Aleppo on Wednesday.
"Less than 3 km separate the regime from cutting all routes to opposition-held Aleppo," Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said. "It did in three days what it failed to do in 3-1/2 years."
One rebel commander said opposition-held areas of the divided city were at risk of being encircled entirely by the regime and allied militia, and appealed to foreign states that back the rebels to send more weapons.
Meanwhile, The United Nations envoy, Staffan de Mistura announced a three-week pause in the Geneva talks, the first attempt to negotiate an end to Syria's war in two years, saying they needed immediate help from the rival sides' international backers, principally the United States and Russia.
Diplomats and opposition members said they were taken by surprise when de Mistura, called for immediate efforts to begin ceasefire negotiations despite there being no official talks or goodwill measures from the Syrian government.
The opposition has said it will not negotiate unless the Assad regime stops bombarding civilian areas, lifts blockades on besieged towns and releases detainees.
Opposition delegation co-ordinator Riad Hijab said there would be no ceasefire until a transition without Bashar al-Assad was in place, addign the pause is gaving the West a chance to put pressure on the Assad regime and Russia to end their assault and that he would not return until there was a change on the ground.
Aleppo, 50 km (30 miles) south of the Turkish border, was Syria's most populous city before the country's descent into civil war. It has been partitioned into zones of government and insurgent control since 2012. (With Reuters)
The two towns of Nubl and Zahraa, with an estimated 60,000 population, are connected to the border by areas under the control of Kurdish militias that provided them some access.
Zaman al-Wasl reporter was earlier denied the falling news, saying clashes are still underway in the next-door village of Ma'raset al-Khan.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Russian and Syrian warplanes launched dozens of strikes on the rebel towns of Hayan and Hreitan in northern Aleppo on Wednesday.
"Less than 3 km separate the regime from cutting all routes to opposition-held Aleppo," Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said. "It did in three days what it failed to do in 3-1/2 years."
One rebel commander said opposition-held areas of the divided city were at risk of being encircled entirely by the regime and allied militia, and appealed to foreign states that back the rebels to send more weapons.
Meanwhile, The United Nations envoy, Staffan de Mistura announced a three-week pause in the Geneva talks, the first attempt to negotiate an end to Syria's war in two years, saying they needed immediate help from the rival sides' international backers, principally the United States and Russia.
Diplomats and opposition members said they were taken by surprise when de Mistura, called for immediate efforts to begin ceasefire negotiations despite there being no official talks or goodwill measures from the Syrian government.
The opposition has said it will not negotiate unless the Assad regime stops bombarding civilian areas, lifts blockades on besieged towns and releases detainees.
Opposition delegation co-ordinator Riad Hijab said there would be no ceasefire until a transition without Bashar al-Assad was in place, addign the pause is gaving the West a chance to put pressure on the Assad regime and Russia to end their assault and that he would not return until there was a change on the ground.
Aleppo, 50 km (30 miles) south of the Turkish border, was Syria's most populous city before the country's descent into civil war. It has been partitioned into zones of government and insurgent control since 2012. (With Reuters)
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