Syria army readies Aleppo offensive as civilian toll rises

The Syrian army was preparing an offensive to retake the northern city of Aleppo, where 53 civilians were killed in fighting today in a new blow to a tattered truce.
It was the highest death toll for a single day in a week of fighting in the divided city of Aleppo between rebels and regime forces that has cost more than 200 lives, a monitoring group said.
UN envoy Staffan de Mistura warned that a hard-won February 27 ceasefire was now "barely alive", appealing for urgent action by its co-sponsors Russia and the United States to rescue it.
At the Security Council, UN aid chief Stephen O'Brien echoed de Mistura, urging world powers to revive the truce and put an end to the "massive human suffering" in war-torn Syria.

But pro-government newspaper Al-Watan said the army was poised for a "decisive battle" for Aleppo and the surrounding province, while a source close to the regime said the campaign was imminent.
"Now is the time to launch the battle for the complete liberation of Aleppo," the paper said, adding that it "will not take long to begin, nor to finish".

The regime source told AFP that "the army is preparing a huge operation in the coming days to push the rebels away from the city by encircling it and creating a security zone".
Rebels have controlled eastern districts of Aleppo city since 2012, while western neighbourhoods are held by the regime.

Control of the surrounding province is divided between a myriad of armed groups -- jihadists of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, Kurdish militia and various rebel factions as well as the army.
Further north in the province, rebels including the powerful Islamist Ahrar al-Sham group and Kurdish forces fought fierce battles yesterday and early today that left 64 fighters dead, a monitor said.
The upsurge in violence in and around Aleppo has strained the February truce between the government and non-jihadist rebels and cast a shadow over UN efforts to convene a new round of peace talks next month and channel aid to Syria's beleaguered population.

Rebel rocket and artillery fire on government-held neighbourhoods today killed 22 civilians, including two children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Regime air strikes on rebel-held districts killed 31 civilians, including three children, according to the British-based monitor.