1st LD: Rebels shelling kills 30 in Aleppo within 24 hrs

At least 30 civilians were killed and 210 others wounded over the past 24 hours caused by rebel shelling on government-controlled areas in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's national TV said Monday.

The rebels have been conducting an intensified shelling by rockets and mortar shells against government-held areas in the western part of Aleppo since Sunday, said the report.

The shelling came in tandem with a wide-scale offensive the rebels, mainly the Jaish al-Fateh and the Jabhet Fateh al-Sham, previously known as the Nusra Front, have unleashed to break a government-imposed siege in the eastern part of Aleppo city.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor group said the Syrian army on Monday recaptured several points the rebels had taken during their offensive on Sunday in the southern countryside of Aleppo.

The UK-based watchdog group said that intense battles, however, are still raging in southern Aleppo.

On Sunday, the al-Fateh Army announced in a video message the beginning of a big offensive to break the Syrian army's recent advance in Aleppo.

Late last week, the Syrian army stormed the Bani Zaid area, a main rebel stronghold in the eastern part of Aleppo.

The progress came a week after the army severed the last rebel supply route connecting rebel-held areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo, with rebel-controlled parts in the eastern part of the city.

With the progress made, the Syrian army has fully besieged eastern Aleppo, urging the rebels to surrender themselves and the civilians to cooperate.

Moreover, President Bashar al-Assad announced an amnesty for the rebels who surrender with their weapons to the authorities.

The Syrian authorities in cooperation with the Russians also opened three safe passages for civilians to leave eastern Aleppo. They also opened a fourth one for the rebels who would want to surrender.

On Saturday, state news agency SANA said dozens of families evacuated eastern districts in Aleppo, amid reports that the rebels prevented many civilians from leaving.

The evacuation of the civilians was also coupled with official reports talking about rebel fighters surrendering themselves to the authorities, on which some video clips were aired on several Syrian TVs. Endit