Syrian army, rebels wage fierce battles in Aleppo

Syrian government forces and rebels fought battles north of Aleppo and in the city center on Sept. 30, a week into a Russian-backed offensive by the Syrian army to take the entire city, while the U.S. and Russia continued blaming each other over the situation in Syria. 
There were conflicting accounts on the outcome of fighting on Sept. 30. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a Syrian military source said government forces had captured territory north of the city and buildings in the city center.

Rebel sources, however, denied any additional advances north of the city by government forces that seized the Handarat camp area north of Aleppo on Sept. 29. A rebel official said government forces had advanced in the Suleiman al-Halabi district of central Aleppo, but were then forced to withdraw. 

The Syrian military and its allies launched a Russian-backed offensive one week ago aimed at capturing rebel-held districts of eastern Aleppo that are home to more than 250,000 people. 

Aleppo has been divided into government and opposition sectors for four years. 

A water station was bombed in the Suleiman al-Halabi district, dealing a further blow to a water system already badly damaged during the offensive. The observatory blamed government forces. A Syrian military source, however, said rebels had blown it up. 

The observatory, a Britain-based war monitor, reported heavy bombardment by government forces and violent "back and forth" fighting in the Suleiman al-Halabi neighborhood. 

The Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity accused Syria's government and its ally Moscow of provoking a "bloodbath" in the city, saying the eastern rebel-held portion had become "a giant kill box."

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