BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) - Rebels attacked Syrian government positions in the historic centre of Aleppo on Monday in response to an offensive that cut a road leading into the opposition-held sector of the city, monitors and insurgents said.
The shelling of government-held neighbourhoods and intense street fighting came days after the advance by the government side towards the Castello Road. Rebels have relied on the road for supply runs and access to Aleppo through much of Syria's civil war, and its severing effectively put opposition-held areas where some 250,000 people live under siege.