Syria Rebels Battle Regime

Syrian government forces and allied fighters advanced quickly inside rebel-held Aleppo today, pressing an offensive in defiance of international concern for the fate of the city and its civilians.

Syrian regime forces and rebel factions sent hundreds of reinforcements to Aleppo today as opposition fighters announced an all-out offensive to take the country's second city.

As Syrian forces battled to recapture the rebel stronghold of Salma last week, they relied not only on Russian air support but also a secret weapon: motorbikes.

Regime troops aided by Russian air strikes fought their fiercest clashes with rebels in weeks today, as US-led coalition forces parachuted ammunition to rebels battling jihadists in northern Syria.

Two alliances of Syrian rebels battled to advance in government-held western Aleppo on Saturday, seizing an army barracks in one district but losing ground in others, in some of the fiercest fighting in the city since the conflict began.

Twenty-one rebels and nine members of Syria's regime forces were killed north of Aleppo on Sunday in fierce fighting for control of a key insurgent supply route, a monitor said.

A US pledge to step up military aid to Syrian rebels because of alleged use of chemical arms by the regime drew criticism from Damascus ally Russia and from UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday.

Syrian rebels seeking to topple President Bashar Assad fought intense battles with his troops on Sunday to try to seize control of three military air bases in the country's north and curtail the regime's use of its punishing air power, activists said.

Syrian rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad declared Damascus International Airport a "legitimate target" on Friday in a bid to cut off regime supplies, as clashes between government troops and rebels forced the closure of the airport road for the second time this week.

Syrian rebels battled regime troops south of the capital on Friday and Internet and telephone lines were cut for a second day, but the government reopened the road to Damascus' airport in a sign that the fighting could be calming, activists said.

Syrian forces threatened on Sunday to mount a "decisive battle" for Aleppo even as rebels clawed toward the city's ancient centre under intense bombardment and strafing from warplanes. In the capital Damascus, militiamen appeared to step up guerrilla-like forays in central districts that were once firmly in the regime's hands.

Syrian government forces and allied fighters advanced quickly inside rebel-held Aleppo today, pressing an offensive in defiance of international concern for the fate of the city and its civilians.

Syrian regime forces and rebel factions sent hundreds of reinforcements to Aleppo today as opposition fighters announced an all-out offensive to take the country's second city.

As Syrian forces battled to recapture the rebel stronghold of Salma last week, they relied not only on Russian air support but also a secret weapon: motorbikes.

Regime troops aided by Russian air strikes fought their fiercest clashes with rebels in weeks today, as US-led coalition forces parachuted ammunition to rebels battling jihadists in northern Syria.

Two alliances of Syrian rebels battled to advance in government-held western Aleppo on Saturday, seizing an army barracks in one district but losing ground in others, in some of the fiercest fighting in the city since the conflict began.

Twenty-one rebels and nine members of Syria's regime forces were killed north of Aleppo on Sunday in fierce fighting for control of a key insurgent supply route, a monitor said.

A US pledge to step up military aid to Syrian rebels because of alleged use of chemical arms by the regime drew criticism from Damascus ally Russia and from UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday.

Syrian rebels seeking to topple President Bashar Assad fought intense battles with his troops on Sunday to try to seize control of three military air bases in the country's north and curtail the regime's use of its punishing air power, activists said.

Syrian rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad declared Damascus International Airport a "legitimate target" on Friday in a bid to cut off regime supplies, as clashes between government troops and rebels forced the closure of the airport road for the second time this week.

Syrian rebels battled regime troops south of the capital on Friday and Internet and telephone lines were cut for a second day, but the government reopened the road to Damascus' airport in a sign that the fighting could be calming, activists said.

Syrian forces threatened on Sunday to mount a "decisive battle" for Aleppo even as rebels clawed toward the city's ancient centre under intense bombardment and strafing from warplanes. In the capital Damascus, militiamen appeared to step up guerrilla-like forays in central districts that were once firmly in the regime's hands.