A Syrian monitoring group alleged Tuesday that rebels are preventing dozens of families from fleeing eastern Aleppo as Russian-backed government forces intensify their bombardment of the besieged quarter. Such claims are difficult to verify and often distorted owing to the propaganda value of the matter. A resident of Aleppo's frontline Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood corroborated the report by the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, which maintains a network of contacts among both government and anti-government institutions. 'Final victory'The government's air assault has been accompanied by pro-government troops pushing their way into neighbourhoods on the edges of eastern Aleppo. The announcement, which named the new anti-terrorism force the Fifth Corps, didn't specify where the force would be deployed.

Source: CBC News November 23, 2016 16:07 UTC