Heavy fighting in Syria’s Aleppo: Activists

“This night was very bad,there were huge explosions and the gunfire didn’t stop for several hours,” said Aleppo-based activist Mohammad Saeed via Skype.

He said dozens of fighters from the rag-tag Free Syrian Army entered Aleppo from the countryside and were now fighting regime troops from inside.

The clashes began on Friday and continued throughout the night until Saturday morning,most of it in Salaheddine.

“The uprising has finally reached Aleppo,” Saeed said.

This week,fierce fighting between troops and rebels reached the Syrian capital,the central bastion of Assad’s rule,shattering parts of the city and sending thousands of people fleeing to neighboring Lebanon and Iraq.

Activists and residents reported a tense calm in Damascus on Saturday but said sporadic gunfire and explosions could be heard throughout the night.

Two residents said over telephone that the fighting peaked between 1 am and 3 am local time.

Damascus and Aleppo are both home to elites who have benefited from close ties to Assad’s regime,as well as merchant classes and minority groups who worry their status will suffer if Assad falls.

However for months,rebels have been gaining strength in poorer towns and cities in the Aleppo countryside,gaining footholds near the Turkish border. Anger has also been building inside the city at the government’s deadly crackdown on the uprising and in recent months,it has seen huge anti-government demonstrations,particularly among students at Aleppo University.

In May,Syrian forces stormed student dormitories during an anti-government protest at the university,firing tear gas and bullets in an hours-long siege that killed four students and forced the closure of the state-run school.

The Local Coordination Committees activist network and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday’s fighting in Aleppo forced many residents to flee to safer areas.