Syria regime rolls back rebel gains in Aleppo: Monitor

Beirut: Syrian government forces have recaptured all of the areas taken by rebel fighters in a recent assault intended to break the regime siege on eastern Aleppo, a monitor said Saturday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the army had recaptured key areas including the western district of Dahiyet al-Assad and the village of Minyan outside the city.

The reversals undo all of the progress made during a recent push by opposition fighters, including former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham front, as they tried to end a government siege on eastern Aleppo city.

Government forces surrounded rebel-held east Aleppo in July, severing the last supply line into opposition neighbourhoods and imposing a blockade that has led to food and fuel shortages.

Rebels have tried several times to break the siege, succeeding briefly in August, but no aid has entered the east since July.

The monitor said over 450 fighters and civilians had been killed since the rebels began their latest bid to break the siege on October 28.