ALEPPO CEASEFIRE CRUMBLES AS FIGHTING RESUMES

BEIRUT A burst of fighting in the flashpoint Syrian city of Aleppo on Sunday appeared to shatter a unilateral Russian ceasefire, signalling a resumption of the government’s offensive to seize rebel-held areas.

Warplanes — either operated by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government or by Russia, an ally — targeted the opposition neighbourhoods of eastern Aleppo on Saturday evening, residents and rebels said. And, they said, pro-government fighters resumed shelling and ground attacks on rebel positions overnight Saturday that continued until Sunday afternoon.

“The attacks have started again, and they are so crazy, so intense,” said Zakaria Malahifji, a member of the Fastakim rebel unit, in the northern city. He added that the “rebels are preparing for a large-scale offence to break the siege of Aleppo.”

Pro-government forces have besieged rebel districts for weeks, leaving the more than 200,000 people in those areas in increasingly desperate circumstances.