Syrian army clears two Aleppo districts of armed gangs

Syrian security forces have cleared the Salahuddin and Hamdaniya neighborhoods in the northwestern city of Aleppo of foreign-sponsored armed gangs. The Syrian army said on Monday that most of the city is now under its control. Meanwhile, fighting continues in the southern district of Sokari and the central neighborhood of Bab al-Hadid. Clashes have continued between Syrian troops and armed rebels in Aleppo over the past few days. The Syrian army began a major operation on Saturday from the southwestern outskirts of Aleppo to clear the city of armed groups. On Sunday, the security forces killed a large number of terrorists attempting to enter the country from neighboring Turkey. Many people, including large numbers of security forces, have been killed in the turmoil in Syria that began in March 2011. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said on July 29, “We believe that all the anti-Syrian forces have gathered in Aleppo to fight the government… and they will definitely be defeated.” Muallem made the remarks in a joint press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi in Tehran. Over the past few days, Syrian troops have reportedly inflicted heavy losses on the rebels in the southwestern city of Dara’a, about 114 kilometers (70 miles) south of the capital, Damascus. The anti-Syria Western regimes have been calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, but Russia and China remain strongly opposed to the Western drive to oust Assad. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on July 28, “Our Western partners… together with some of Syria’s neighbors are essentially encouraging, supporting and directing an armed struggle against [the Syrian government].”