The Syrian army pressed an offensive in Aleppo on Friday with ground fighting and air strikes in an operation to retake all of the city’s besieged rebel-held east that would bring victory in the civil war closer for President Bashar al-Assad.
“The advance is going according to plan and is sometimes faster than expected,” a Syrian military source told Reuters, adding that the Syrian army and its allies had recaptured 32 of east Aleppo’s 40 neighborhoods, about 85 percent of the area.
Reuters witnesses, rebels and a monitor on Friday confirmed the military thrust. There were no reports the Syrian Army had made significant gains.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei lavrov said on Thursday that the Syrian army had halted military activity to let civilians leave rebel-held areas, RIA news agency reported.
But there was no sign on the ground that fighting had slowed and after lavrov’s announcement, the army and its allies tried to advance on two fronts, a Turkey-based official with the Jabha Shamiya rebel group told Reuters.
“Helicopters, warplanes and rocket bombardment like every day. Nothing has changed,” the official said, describing the situation as of 9:30 a.m. local time (0730 GMT). The official added that despite the bombardment, “the guys are steadfast”.
Russia’s air force and Iran-backed Shi’ite militias are also fighting in Aleppo on the government side. Rebel leaders have given no sign they are about to withdraw as the civilian population is squeezed into an ever-decreasing area. The Russian military said on Friday it had helped more than 8,000 Syrian citizens flee parts of eastern Aleppo still controlled by rebels in the last 24 hours, including almost 3,000 children.