Spotlight: Rebel, army bracing for all out showdown in Syria's Aleppo

A decisive battle in the northern province of Aleppo is looming on the horizon, as the Syrian army and the rebels are preparing and receiving reinforcements for the imminent showdown.

Just a couple of days ago, the Jaish al-Fateh rebel group succeeded to drive out the Syrian army from key military bases in the southern countryside of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor group said on Monday.

The rebel group had claimed to have broken the siege of the Syrian army on rebel-held areas in the eastern part of Aleppo city after six days of strenuous attacks.

They captured the areas of the military colleges and the roundabout of the southern town of al-Ramuseh, which enabled them to open a narrow route into eastern Aleppo.

It turns the table against the government forces, and closes off the road to the government-controlled western part of Aleppo.

However, the government says the rebel group has failed to open their desired route into Aleppo.

The Observatory said the passage the rebels had opened was insecure for civilians to leave or enter the rebel-held areas inside Aleppo under the heavy airstrikes by the Syrian and Russian air forces.

Battles in Aleppo flared last month, when the Syrian army backed by the Lebanese Hezbollah group and Russian airstrikes made sweeping progress in the northern countryside of Aleppo, severing the last supply route for the rebels in eastern Aleppo.

The move, while fully secured a siege, has triggered a violent response from the rebels, who launched attacks and endless mortar and rocket shelling on the government-controlled western part of Aleppo city.

The Observatory said the prices of all goods have increased fourfold just the day after the rebels closed off al-Ramuseh.

Meanwhile, the military forces were reportedly opened another route into western Aleppo from the northern countryside, namely the Castello road, the same road the government severed toward eastern Aleppo.

With the blow the Syrian forces received in southern Aleppo, state news agency SANA said the all of the routes into Aleppo are exposed to the Syrian military fire, meaning that the rebels will not fully use the road they had opened.

It added that trucks carrying big loads of fuel and all food necessities entered western Aleppo on Monday.

Jaish al-Fateh announced Monday that the next phase of battles in Aleppo will be a wide-scale offensive to "liberate the entire city" from the government forces.

"We will multiply the numbers of our fighters to be ready for the upcoming battle," the group said in a statement.

The Observatory said the group received reinforcements of fighters on Monday, as the pro-government al-Watan newspaper said that the Syrian army and its allies also received the needed military aid for restoring positions they had lost.

The army is said to impose "an iron grip" around the areas infiltrated by the rebels to prevent them from expanding toward the city.

Jaish al-Fateh, an alliance of several rebel factions, was formed in March 2015 under the supervision and coordination of Saudi cleric Abdullah al-Muhaysini.

Some of its factions are active in the provinces of Hama and Latakia. The group seized most of Idlib province in northwestern Syria last year and it is actively supported by Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Military experts said that the group received military aid from Turkey, which explains the sudden rise up and success they had achieved in southern Aleppo.

Aleppo is strategic for all warring parties due to its key location beside the Turkish border and as Syria's industrial capital.

The large presence of rebel groups, supported by foreign countries, further complicated the situation, while the U.S. has also identified "moderate" rebels located in Aleppo.

The battle of Aleppo is decisive, as observers declared that whoever controls Aleppo will gain the upper hand in any potential settlement in Syria. Endit