Aleppo – Syrian forces loyal to president Assad’s government may have lost control of a strategic town south of Aleppo in another blow to the government in the north.
Khan Al Assal is a district situated in the west of Aleppo and has been, until recently, one of the very few strongholds of the government in the north. The district is just few kilometers away from the government-controled West Aleppo. The government of Mr. Assad is still in control of western Aleppo (about 45% of the city) but it remains nearly besieged from all sides by the rebels who control the rest of the city and much of the countryside.
The fight for Aleppo began about a year ago when rebels attacked the northern commercial hub in a bid to transform Syria’s largest city into a “Benghazi of Syria”, however, the government soon sent reinforcements and entrenched itself in the opulent parts of Aleppo, targeting the rebel-held and poor neighborhoods with heavy weaponry, tank fire and airstrikes.
