Heavy shellfire forces Syrian rebels out of key Aleppo districtAugust 10, 2012 - 11:25 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Rebels retreated from the key Aleppo district of Salaheddin under a deadly rain of shellfire Thursday, August 9 as a veteran Algerian diplomat was set to be named the new international envoy to Syria, AFP reports. "We have staged a tactical withdrawal from Salaheddin. The district is completely empty of rebel fighters. Regime forces are now advancing into Salaheddin," said Hossam Abu Mohammed, a Free Syrian Army (FSA) commander, with the battle for Syria's commercial capital raging into a second day. "The fighters are withdrawing to (nearby) Sukari district, where they are preparing a counter-attack," he said. Abu Mohammed cited heavy shelling and the army's use of thermobaric bombs, which throw out a wall of fire to incinerate targets in enclosed spaces. "A large number of civilians were killed, as were some 40 rebels," he said. "Forty buildings have been flattened." State television said: "Our special forces have cleansed Salaheddin district of terrorists." But Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that fighters remained in the district, ready to "fight to the death." Wassel Ayub, who commands the Nur al-Haq Brigade, said the FSA had withdrawn "to open a new front in Saif al-Dawla and Mashhad." FSA spokesman Kassem Saadeddine, speaking by Skype, said the withdrawal "does not mean we are leaving Aleppo. We have military plans to fight in the city, but we cannot reveal them." In Damascus, a security source said regime forces were "advancing quickly" in Salaheddin towards Saif al-Dawla. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Putin congratulates Pashinyan’s birthday Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday on June 1. Opposition motorcade en route to Gyumri for large rally A motorcade of protesters headed by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan is heading to the city of Gyumri. Ruling MPs, Foreign Minister talk Armenia-Azerbaijan processes MOs from the ruling Civil Contract party met with the Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in the Armenian parliament. Russia: Armenia’s frozen membership weakens CSTO position in Caucasus A Russian envoy said any step that could alienate the CSTO member states from each other is “deeply wrong”. |