WorldALEPPO, AFP -Huge blazes erupted in Syria's Aleppo as the city was rocked by fighting and air strikes on Thursday, ahead of last-ditch efforts by world powers to salvage a failed ceasefire. The truce deal brokered by Moscow and Washington fell apart earlier this week, ushering in a surge of fighting on all major fronts of Syria's five-year civil war. Heavy clashes gripped the outskirts of Aleppo on Thursday, after air strikes triggered major fires across the city's devastated rebel-held districts. An AFP correspondent in the eastern Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood reported that his entire street was in flames following the pre-dawn strikes. The truce broke down on Monday night, when Syria's military announced an end to a week-long freeze on fighting.

Source: Sunday Times September 22, 2016 10:07 UTC