Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Syria regime forces on Sunday seized two new rebel-held districts in Aleppo a day after they retook the largest opposition-controlled neighborhood in the second city, a monitor said.

“The army and its allies retook control of Jabal Badro and Baadeen”, both adjacent to Masaken Hanano which was retaken on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

In less than 24 hours, the regime has seized three districts from the rebels just 13 days into an assault to retake the entire northern city.

East Aleppo has been under rebel control since 2012.

“The army’s rapid advance is due to its strategy of attacking east Aleppo on several fronts, weakening the rebels,” Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Meanwhile, fighting raged between regime forces and rebels in the strategic neighboring district of Sakhur, the Observatory said.

Sakhur lies on a stretch of just 1.5 kilometres between west Aleppo and Masaken Hanano, now both controlled by the regime.

If the regime did manage to take control of the district, east Aleppo would be split in two from north to south, dealing a further blow to the armed opposition.

*AFP