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Power outage hits Aleppo after rebels attack

Xinhua, July 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

Rebels in the northern city of Aleppo fired mortar shells on a key power plant Wednesday, causing a complete blackout in the city, state news agency SANA said.

A source in the Electricity Ministry was quoted by SANA as saying that the rebels fired several rockets on the main power station in the city of Aleppo, causing a massive fire and a complete power outage.

The source added that maintenance workers were working to put down the fire and fix the damage in the station to bring back the electricity to the city as soon as possible.

The rebels have carried out such attacks, which caused several major blackouts in Aleppo for days even weeks.

Drinking water has also become scarce in the city as the rebels in the countryside control the main water line.

Aleppo, Syria's largest and once an economic hub, is seeing intensified violence and battles as the Syrian army is advancing against the rebels in the northern countryside.

After the last supply route in northern Aleppo countryside was completely severed, the rebels in the eastern part of the city have become isolated in their besieged areas.

Earlier in the day, Syrian helicopters dropped tens of thousands of leaflets, urging the rebels to surrender in Aleppo in exchange for a pardon. Endit