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13Aug12
Syrian Forces Enter Aleppo District
Syrian government troops on Monday stormed the western neighborhood of the rebel-held city of Aleppo using tanks and armored vehicles, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Clashes with rebel fighters have been reported in the Saif al-Dawla neighborhood with the bombarded by regime forces ongoing since morning.
Observers have viewed the battle for Aleppo as a major watershed in the Syrian conflict that could decide the future of the armed uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.
Aleppo, a city of 2.5 million people, has remained the hotspot of Syria's civil conflict since last week, when pro-government forces launched a massive assault on the city in a colossal push to regain control of key territories across the country. The media proclaimed the fight for Aleppo "the mother of all battles."
The Syrian conflict has claimed between 14,000 and 20,000 lives since March 2011, according to estimates by various opposition groups and the UN. The West is pushing for Assad's ouster, while Russia and China are trying to prevent outside interference in the country, claiming the Assad regime and the opposition are both to blame for the bloodshed.
[Source: Ria Novosti, Moscow, 13Aug12]
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