Shortages grow, bombing intensifies in Syria's rebel-held Aleppo, residents say

The horrors of life in rebel-held eastern Aleppo are worsening, residents say, describing acute food shortages and increased aerial bombardment in the battle for control of the key Syria city.

Syrian government troops completely encircled rebel-held neighborhoods last week, cutting off all supply lines to the enclave.
Fierce fighting has ensued as rebel militias have attempted to break the siege, and regime troops, backed by Russian air power, have responded with intense strikes on opposition-controlled areas.


Three barrel bombs were dropped on eastern Aleppo as photojournalist Karam Al Masri spoke to CNN from his home in the Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood Wednesday evening.
He said the airstrikes began at around 7 a.m. and continued through the day -- about 10 missile strikes, and about 20 aircraft dropping feared barrel bombs.
"Each aircraft carries two barrel bombs. At times two or three aircraft drop them at the same time," he told CNN.
"They are the most dangerous. They cause a lot of damage and people are most scared of them. When it's bad like that, everyone goes to the bottom floors."
At least 16 people, including four children, were killed in the past 24 hours by heavy aerial bombing in Aleppo province, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Thursday.
Ten of those were in rebel-held neighborhoods in eastern Aleppo, voluntary rescue group Syria Civil Defense said, with fatalities expected to rise due to the lack of medical equipment.
Man killed, child wounded
Masri said he took cover in a basement for an hour with about 15 neighbors as strikes hammered the area Wednesday.
Syria cessation of hostilities, explained
Masri said he witnessed one man in the neighborhood die. Seven others were injured.
"One of them was a child who lost his leg, and he is now in a serious condition. He was just 7 or 8 years old," he said.
He said he believed the airstrikes intensified Wednesday after residents ran out of tires to burn and create thick smoke clouds to obscure targets from bomber pilots.
Children have joined efforts to burn the tires in defense of their neighborhoods as airplanes circle overhead.
Concerted rebel push
Intense battles -- some of the fiercest in the five-year conflict to date -- have broken out this week as rebels attempt to drive through government lines and reconnect with opposition-held territory in the west.

Opposition fighters rest in Aleppo's Ramouseh area as they try to end the Syrian government's siege.
Hospitals supported by Doctors Without Borders in rebel-held Aleppo have seen a significant increase in wounded since the fighting intensified, said Pablo Marco Blanco, Middle East operations manager for the humanitarian group.
On Wednesday, rebels detonated a huge bomb in a tunnel beneath a government position in the strategic Ramouseh area, a regime-held neighborhood separating eastern Aleppo from the rebel-held territory to the west.
Rebel militia initiated attacks on other government-controlled areas, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

British national dies fighting ISIS in Syria.