Assad forces advance in Aleppo push

Kerry says Washington still in pursuit of peace after US suspends talks.

Syrian regime forces advanced against rebels during intense street battles in the heart of Aleppo on Tuesday after the United States abandoned talks with Russia aimed at reviving a ceasefire deal.

Washington said its decision did not mean it was “abandoning the pursuit of peace”, as Moscow called for “political wisdom” while announcing the deployment of its S-300 missile system to the port of Tartus. And the UN rights chief called for action to halt the “ghastly avalanche of violence” unfolding in Syria’s second city, which is reeling from some of the most brutal fighting in the five-year conflict.

The Syrian Army announced a major Russian-backed military push nearly two weeks ago to capture the rebel-held eastern half of Aleppo, once the country’s commercial hub. On Tuesday, loyalists seized high-rise buildings from rebels in the city centre, pushing north towards other opposition districts. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said regime forces were “gradually advancing” after street battles on the front line dividing the rebel-held east from the government-controlled west.

“They are focusing on the tall buildings, which were once government administration buildings, because they can monitor entire streets and neighbourhoods from there,” said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman. State news agency SANA reported rebel shelling on the government-held west, including on the Aleppo University campus, killed six people.

Washington announced late Monday that it would suspend joint efforts to reinstate a nationwide truce, accusing Moscow of abetting strongman Bashar al-Assad’s assault on Aleppo.

“Everybody’s patience with Russia has run out,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters. A US official said US secretary of state John Kerry is “laser-focused” on finding a diplomatic solution, but his talks with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the crisis were over. Mr Kerry said Tuesday the decision was one “we did not come to lightly”.

“We are not abandoning the pursuit of peace, we are not going to leave the multilateral field, we are going to continue to try to find a way forward in order to end this war,” he added, offering fierce criticism of Moscow. “People who are serious about making peace behave differently from the way Russia has chosen to behave,” he said.

The Kremlin meanwhile said it “would like to hope for the presence of political wisdom and the continuation of exchanges on particularly sensitive issues that are necessary for maintaining peace and security.”