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Damascus expects tough but short battle for Aleppo

10 February 2016 23:13 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The Syrian government expects a tough battle for Aleppo, the city that has become the focal point of the country's long civil war, but is confident of victory and says it won't be a long fight, APA reports quoting Reuters. Damascus aims to seal the border with Turkey, a major sponsor of the insurgents fighting President Bashar al-Assad, and to retake rebel-held areas of what was Syria's biggest city and industrial hub before the conflict began in 2011.

"These battles are not easy, but the day will come, God willing, when all Aleppo - its rural areas and the occupied part of the city - will return to state authority," Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said in an interview on Wednesday.

He declined to predict how long the campaign would last, but added: "I do not expect the battle of Aleppo to go on long."

The Syrian government has made significant gains against rebels north of the city in the last week, in a dramatic advance backed by Russian air strikes and allies on the ground including Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iranian fighters.

The government assault helped to derail already struggling Geneva peace talks this month. Russia's intervention has tipped the war Assad's way, reversing gains rebels made last year.