Syrian army launches new assault north of Aleppo, rebels sayApril 14, 2016 - 17:07 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Syria's army backed by Russian jets launched a fierce new assault on areas north of Aleppo on Thursday, April 14 rebels and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said, threatening to block rebels' access to opposition-held areas of the city, according to Reuters. "The escalation started at night. The area is of great importance. If the regime advances, this will tighten the grip on Aleppo," Abdullah Othman, head of the politburo of the Levant Front rebel group, told Reuters, describing the fighting as "to-and-fro". There was no word of the army's attack on state media, which earlier on Thursday cited a military source as saying the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front had bombarded residential areas of Aleppo, wounding a large number of civilians. Rami Abdulrahman, director of the SOHR, a Britain-based group that tracks the war, said Handarat Camp, perched on a hilltop over a main road, was strategically important. "Today the regime tried to go forward, they tried to take some areas ... from this area you can stop any rebel fighter from going outside Aleppo or inside it," he said. Photo: Molhem Barakat/ Reuters Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. |