Pro-government forces are tightening a new siege around the country’s largest city, Aleppo, amid intense bombing. “This tells us that they are trying to displace people, forcing them to leave the city,” Mr. Yazan said in a phone interview. “It had a well-organized local council, and this all gave Daraya a value that made it a target for the regime. That is why Muhammad Shihadeh, a member of the local council, fears retaliation if government troops take the town: The government, he said, wants to eliminate any alternative model. The only road connecting the city to the border with Turkey and rebel-held countryside has long been subject to airstrikes.

Source: International New York Times July 15, 2016 23:19 UTC