Syrian opposition captures strategic Aleppo village

By Zahir Ajuz

ALEPPO, Syria

Syrian opposition forces have captured the village of Manyan near the entrance of the New Aleppo district of the besieged city of Aleppo, opposition sources told Anadolu Agency on Monday.

The move comes as part of a military operation launched last Friday by opposition factions affiliated with the Jaish al-Fatah ("Army of Conquest") group aimed at breaking the Syrian regime’s ongoing siege of eastern parts of the city.

Opposition forces taking part in the campaign have been forced to withdraw from Aleppo’s southwestern 3,000 Apartments district after storming it Sunday due to fierce regime airstrikes, opposition commanders told Anadolu Agency.

The same sources, who spoke anonymously due to security concerns, said clashes between opposition fighters and regime forces were still ongoing in the vicinity of the area.

Opposition forces are using heavy weaponry against regime positions in Aleppo’s Jamaat al-Zahraa neighborhood, the sources said, while clashes continue to rage near Manyan village.

Last Friday, Syrian opposition forces captured the Al-Assad suburb, bringing them some 2.5 kilometers from besieged areas of eastern Aleppo.

In August, the Jaish al-Fatah briefly managed to break the regime’s siege on opposition-held parts of the city. Within one week, however, regime forces -- with the help of allied militias and Russian air power -- managed to re-impose the blockade.

Since September of last year, Russia has been carrying out extensive air operations in Syria with the aim of supporting the embattled Assad regime and "fighting terrorism".

While the Kremlin says its campaign in Syria targets the Daesh terrorist group, some members of the western NATO alliance believe Russia is targeting opposition groups opposed to Assad -- including some that enjoy U.S. and Turkish support.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when Assad cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the Arab Spring uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than a quarter of a million people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced across the war-torn country, according to UN figures.