Rebels hold on in Aleppo fight

The Syrian military has stepped up its campaign to drive rebels out of Aleppo where fighters said they were holding firm vowing to turn the country’s largest city into the “regime’s grave.”

The Syrian military has stepped up its campaign to drive rebels out of Aleppo where fighters said they were holding firm vowing to turn the country’s largest city into the “regime’s grave.”

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Opposition activists denied a government declaration that its forces had recaptured the Salaheddine district in southwest Aleppo straddling the most obvious route for Syrian troop reinforcements coming from the south.

Outgunned rebel fighters patrolling in flat-bed trucks flying green-white-and-black ‘independence’ flags said they were holding out in Salaheddine, where five rebels died during the clashes. For the first time in several days on Tuesday, helicopters firing heavy machine guns were heard over the eastern part of the city.

“Although Damascus is the capital, Aleppo has a fourth of the country’s population, the entire force of its economy and we always knew the regime’s grave would be Aleppo. Bashar’s forces will be buried here,” said Mohammed, a young fighter.

Hospitals and makeshift clinics were filling up with casualties from the clashes. “A few days ago we got 30 injured and 20 corpses, but half of those bodies were ripped to pieces that we couldn’t identify them,” said a young medic.

Due to the government’s superiority, rebels have had little success in holding on to urban territory. They had made a major push into Damascus two weeks ago, but were driven out.