AFP, Beirut :Fighting escalated around Syria’s second city Aleppo, as a Russian-backed government offensive strained a landmark ceasefire and threatened a new round of peace talks in Geneva.Government fighters, rebels and jihadists battled for control of swathes of Aleppo province, threatening a nearly seven-week ceasefire that had seen violence drop for the first time in the five-year conflict.Regime loyalists backed by Russian air power pressed a fierce offensive just north of the provincial capital of Aleppo city, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.Fighting was heaviest around Handarat, a hilly area that lies along a route leading north out of opposition-held parts of the city.Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said regime forces, backed by Russian and Syrian planes, were seeking to cut off that road and “completely besiege” eastern neighbourhoods.An AFP correspondent in opposition-held eastern Aleppo city said the booming crashes of strikes could be heard throughout the day, but no raids hit the city itself.”We’re overwhelmed once again by fears of a government siege of Aleppo, after weeks of a ceasefire that may have just collapsed,” said Ali Saber, a 32-year-old father of one living in Aleppo.The assault has sparked “strong concerns” in Washington about the ceasefire, which saw violence plummet after it took effect on February 27.A senior US administration official said the offensive “could well violate the cessation of hostilities, which has… been under increasing pressure in recent weeks”.European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini also expressed concern about the Aleppo offensive and called for the “respect, consolidation, and expansion” of the truce.Representatives of Bashar al-Assad’s regime are expected in Geneva on Friday for peace talks with UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, who criticised the government for hindering efforts to deliver life-saving assistance to Syrians in need.
