It is only a matter of time before rebels capture all of Aleppo, the head of Syria's main opposition coalition said Monday as fighters launched an offensive to take the divided second city in its entirety.
Syrian National Coalition chief Anas al-Abdeh, in an interview with AFP, also praised a new-found unity among opposition factions that has seen the Fateh al-Sham Front -- which used to have ties with al-Qaida -- join forces with other rebels in the battle for Aleppo.
Over the weekend, opposition fighters succeeded in ending a three-week government siege of Aleppo's rebel-held east -- a major blow to the government forces of President Bashar Assad.
"I think this possibly is one of the most important developments of the Syrian revolution in the last five and a half years," Abdeh said in an interview in Istanbul, where the National Coalition is based.