Syria rebels say Aleppo siege broken
 

BEIRUT: Syrian rebels said Saturday they have broken a three-week government siege of second city Aleppo, turning the tables on Russian-backed regime forces who are **w on the defensive.

To the **rtheast, a Western-backed alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters scored a major victory against the Islamic State group in the town of Manbij after a fierce two-month battle.

The developments have rocked the key **rthern province of Aleppo, a microcosm of Syria´s chaotic multi-front war that has killed more than 280,000 people.

Rebel and regime forces have fought to control the provincial capital since mid-2012, transforming the former eco**mic powerhouse into a divided, bombed-out city.

Opposition fighters, Islamists and jihadists have waged fierce assaults since July 31 to end the siege by government forces of some 250,000 people in eastern Aleppo.

On Saturday, rebels successfully broke the siege by opening a new route into the city from the southwest, opposition officials said.

"Rebels break Aleppo´s siege," tweeted the Istanbul-based opposition National Coalition.
Islamist faction Ahrar al-Sham said rebels had seized control of Ramussa on the southwestern edges of the city and "opened the route to Aleppo".

But state television said late Saturday the army had regained control of several key points in a military complex that rebels overran earlier.

"Our armed forces took control of the part of the artillery school that had been seized by terrorists... while (rebel) groups withdrew from points in the armament school," it said, citing a military source.

Al-Manar, the television station of the Lebanese group Hezbollah which is fighting alongside Syrian government forces, denied that Ramussa had fallen or that the siege had been broken.

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