Nusra Front-led rebels continue to try to push into Western Aleppo in an offensive they launched on Friday, but the advance appears to be slowing to a snail’s pace amid heavy resistance from the military. At the same time, the rebels continue to fire rockets against the government-held parts of the city.
Some 84 people have been killed over the course of the offensive, most of them women and children, and the UN has been harshly critical of the rebels for their “indiscriminate” attacks against areas with a large number of civilians present.
This has been a recurring problem throughout the battle over Aleppo, which has left the city heavy divided and badly damaged. Both sides regularly trade rocket and artillery fire, and both sides seem to have a hard time making such attacks hit anybody except for civilian bystanders.
Over the past month the military had a seemingly decisive advantage in Aleppo, with the Nusra Front losing a growing amount of territory in the east. This newest counter-offensive is the latest in a long, long line of attempts by different factions within the city to shift the momentum in their favor, which is a big part of why, despite it being heavily contested since 2012, no one appears close to really controlling Aleppo.