Syria: rebel stronghold in Aleppo falls to Assad's forces

The rebel Free Syrian Army has retreated from the embattled district of Salaheddin in Aleppo on Thursday as Assad's forces advance.

Goran Tomasevic's dramatic photos of the fighting around Aleppo in Syria

Hossam Abu Mohammed, an FSA insurgent commander said: "We have staged a tactical withdrawal from Salaheddin. The district is completely empty of rebel fighters. Regime forces are now advancing into Salaheddin."

The rebels are still in streets near the key neighbourhood, said Abu Mohammed, who commands the FSA's Dara al-Shahbaa Brigade. "We are in the Saif al-Dawla and Mashhad districts" east of Salaheddin, he said.

He cited the violent bombardment by regime forces as the reason behind the FSA withdrawal.

"The artillery and aerial bombardments are very heavy, and they are targeting all rebel-held areas surrounding Salaheddin," said Abu Mohammed.

Another FSA commander confirmed the pull-out.

"The FSA's brigades have staged a tactical withdrawal from Salaheddin in order to open a new front in Saif al-Dawla and Mashhad," said Wassel Ayub, who commands the Nur al-Haq Brigade.

"We had full control of the district last night, but then regime forces bombarded in an unprecedented way," Ayub said. "The situation is terrible, and we have decided to stage a tactical withdrawal."

Rebels and regime forces have engaged in fierce fighting over Salaheddin for more than two weeks. The rebels say they control some 50 percent of Syria's commercial capital.

On Wednesday, regime forces launched a fierce assault on Salaheddin, a district to which both rebels and the regime attribute great symbolic importance.

President Bashar al-Assad has appointed Wael al-Halqi as Syria's new premier, state television reported on Thursday.

"The president has signed Decree 298, appointing Wael al-Halqi as the new prime minister," the broadcaster reported.

Health Minister Halqi was appointed to replace Riad Hijab, whose defection to the opposition was announced on Monday.

Mr Hijab's was the highest-level defection from Assad's regime since the outbreak of a revolt almost 17 months ago.

Source: AFP