BEIRUT: The Syrian army backed by allied militia has captured several villages north of Aleppo from insurgents and fighting has blocked a main supply route leading into the northern city, an activist group said Tuesday.
A U.N. mediator has been struggling to broker a ceasefire in Aleppo and government forces had long been expected to try to encircle it completely, aiming to drive insurgents from Syria's second city and take control of their main supply road.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said pro-government forces had blocked a road leading towards the Turkish border as heavy clashes continued there.The army also took villages including Bashkuwi and Sifat, while battles raged in Hardatain and Ratain, said the Observatory, which tracks the Syrian conflict using sources on the ground. It added that at least 16 insurgents were killed.Aleppo is at the heart of clashes between pro-government forces and a range of insurgents which include, Islamist brigades, Al-Qaeda's hardline Syria wing Nusra Front, foreign fighters in other groups and Western-backed rebels.
"It is very important, because if they continue like this they will completely cut the supply lines for the future. The Syrian regime is moving forward there," the Observatory's founder Rami Abdulrahman said.