Syrian army reimposes siege on rebel-held areas in Aleppo

Damascus, Sep 5 (IANS) The Syrian army wrested back control over a series of military bases in Aleppo on Sunday, reimposing a full siege on rebel-held areas in the eastern part of Aleppo city, Syria's national TV reported.

The military forces recaptured all the military bases near the al-Ramuseh area south of Aleppo, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying.

The rebels, mainly the Jaish al-Fateh, or the Army of Conquest, unleashed a wide-scale offensive in August, capturing the military colleges and breaking the government-imposed siege on rebel-held areas in eastern Aleppo.

The Syrian forces, backed by the Lebanese Hezbollah group and Russian airstrikes, mounted a counter-attack, succeeding on Sunday to capture those areas and placing back the siege.

Previously, the army said the civilians wishing to leave eastern Aleppo are allowed to do so, while the rebels would be granted pardon if they laid down their weapons and surrendered to the army.

It's not yet clear whether the pardon is still in place after the military recaptures of the bases.