Over 100 troops, pro-regime militia, jihadists and rebels have been killed in four days of fierce fighting on a strategic front of Syria's Aleppo province, a monitoring group said Wednesday.
The Russian air force and Syrian military are preparing a joint operation to take Aleppo from rebels, the Syrian prime minister was quoted saying on Sunday, and an opposition official said a ceasefire was on the verge of collapse.
The Syrian army and its allies launched a major attack on insurgents south of Aleppo, described as the fiercest government assault in the area since an agreement to ease the fighting came into effect in February.
Syrian regime air strikes killed at least five civilians in a rebel-held neighbourhood of Aleppo city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said calling it a "serious violation".
The Syrian army retook a strategic town from the Islamic State group on Thursday, paving the way for the reopening of its sole supply route to main northern city Aleppo.
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to retake the entire country but warned it could take a "long time," in an exclusive interview with AFP that comes as international pressure grows for a ceasefire.
Russia said Thursday it was ready to discuss a ceasefire in Syria as foreign ministers gathered in Munich in a bid to kick-start peace talks derailed by the regime onslaught on the besieged city of Aleppo.
More than 500 people, including dozens of civilians, have been killed since a major Russian-backed regime offensive in Syria's Aleppo province began this month, a monitor said.
Syrian rebels have withdrawn from three villages threatened by Russian strikes in the northern province of Aleppo that borders Turkey, allowing Kurdish fighters to overrun them, a monitor said.
Turkey is ready "if necessary" to let in tens of thousands of Syrian refugees trapped on its border after fleeing a regime assault, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Thousands of Syrians were braving cold and rain at the Turkish border on Saturday after fleeing a Russian-backed regime assault on Aleppo in northern Syria that threatens a fresh humanitarian disaster.
Syrian government forces and allied fighters seized the town of Ataman near Deraa city on Friday, building on gains made last week in the southern province.
