Conflicting Reports as Nusra Claims Aleppo Siege Broken

Heavy fighting yesterday in and around the artillery academy near Aleppo continued into today, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirming intense battles around the area, but exactly what the outcome of today’s fighting was remains uncertain, with conflicting reports.

The rebel Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, formerly the Nusra Front, claimed to have won the battle, and ended the siege of eastern Aleppo. The Syrian Observatory suggested the fighting was continuing, and Hezbollah, which fights on the government’s side, insisted they’d won, and the siege was still in place.

Syria took the last road into eastern Aleppo last month, and while Nusra claimed to have substantial supplies to resist the siege, they’ve launched major counteroffensives trying to reverse the losses. The artillery academy would, if taken by Nusra, significantly open the area for them, while also threatening to put government-held western Aleppo under a rebel siege.

No matter who ends up winning this latest battle, however, it probably won’t mean a practical end to the battle over Aleppo, which has raged through most of the war, turning what was once Syria’s financial and industrial capital into a ruin of segmented districts held by warring parties.