Syrian government forces are reported to be preparing for a major
offensive on rebel-held parts of the northern city of Aleppo and
its surroundings.
A security source
said it would start "in the coming hours or days", echoing a
pro-government newspaper article saying troops were "deploying
heavily".
Activists said there were no signs yet of a renewed push on
Aleppo.
The development comes only days after government forces backed by
Hezbollah fighters recaptured the town of Qusair.
On Sunday, they retook the last remaining rebel-held villages in
the strategically important area, which lies between the Lebanese
border and the central city of Homs.
The regime considers that it has received a shot in the arm after
the Qusair battle, but they will find that it will not be easy to
advance in Aleppo”
Much of northern Syria has been controlled by rebel groups since
last year and the frontlines inside Aleppo have been largely static
for months.
However, the fall of Qusair on Wednesday to troops and militants
from Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia Islamist movement, has reportedly
been seized on by the military's leadership as a decisive
victory.
An article in the pro-government Syrian newspaper, al-Watan, said
the army was now "deploying heavily in the countryside near Aleppo
in preparation for a battle that will be fought inside the city and
on its outskirts".
"Besieged areas will be freed in the first stages and troops which
have been on the defensive will go on the offensive."
It added: "The Syrian army will take advantage of
its experience in Qusair and Eastern Ghouta [near Damascus] to
advance in the provinces of Hama and
Homs."
A security source also said the government's next target was
Aleppo.
"It is likely the battle for Aleppo will start in the coming hours
or days, and its aim is to reclaim the towns and villages in the
province," the source told the AFP news agency.
The planned offensive is reportedly named
"Operation Northern Storm".
Opposition activists said they had not seen any significant troop
build-up outside Aleppo, but fierce fighting was reported on Sunday
in Nubbul and Zahra, two villages on the outskirts of the city that
are predominantly Shia Muslim.
A rebel commander and former senior military officer, Brig Gen
Mustafa al-Sheikh, said the government had been using helicopters
to reinforce its positions with loyalists, including Hezbollah
fighters and Shia from Iraq.
"The [army's] aim is to use the two villages as forward bases to
make advances in Aleppo and its countryside," he told the Reuters
news agency.
"The regime considers that it has received a shot in the arm after
the Qusair battle, but they will find that it will not be easy to
advance in Aleppo."
Local activist Abu Mujahid said troops backed by Hezbollah
militants had attempted to break a rebel siege of a military
airport in the town of Minnig, near Zahra and Nubbul, and that the
rebels were monitoring activity at the nearby Salamiya army
base.
Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, declared at the end of May
that the group had sent fighters to Syria to assist forces loyal to
President Bashar al-Assad, and vowed to fight to the end to defeat
the rebellion and defend Lebanon from jihadist extremists.
In a separate development on
Sunday, the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Islamist rebels
in Aleppo had executed a 15-year-old boy in front of his parents as
punishment for what they regarded as a blasphemous
comment.
The UK-based activist group
said Mohammed Qataa was shot in the face and neck a
day after being seized by the
rebels, who
allegedly overheard the teenager tell someone: "Even if the Prophet
Muhammad comes down [from heaven], I will not become a
believer."
Before executing the boy, one of the rebels
reportedly told onlookers: "Disbelieving in God is polytheism and cursing
the Prophet is polytheism. Whoever curses even once will be
punished like this."
The SOHR published a photograph of what it said was the boy's face,
which bore gunshot wounds to the mouth and neck. Its director, Rami
Abdul Rahman, said it could not "ignore these crimes, which only
serve the enemies of the revolution and the enemies of
humanity".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22840728