Syria: the rebels withdrew their main stronghold in Aleppo

The insurgents withdrew Thursday from the main area they controlled in Aleppo, Syria's second city and crucial issue of the conflict between the rebels and the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian president has in turn appointed a new head of government to replace Riad Hijab who defected this week. Meanwhile, Iran, a faithful ally of the Syrian regime in Tehran organized a "consultative meeting" on Syria, attended by representatives from 29 countries, including Russia, China, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The Syrian Army rebels free (ASL) entrenched in Aleppo (north), economic powerhouse of the country where fighting has been raging since July 20, announced they have escaped from their stronghold of Salahuddin bombing because of particularly violent the government forces. "We made a tactical withdrawal of Salaheddin. There are more rebel fighters due to an unprecedented bombing and regime forces are moving in the neighborhood," said Hussam Abu Mohammad, commander of the brigade Dera Ashahba, one component of ASL fighting in this sector. For its part, Wassel Ayoub, the brigade commander Nur al-Haq of ASL, said this evening that five battalions of the ASL remained present in the area to facilitate évacution complete fighters. He said the rebels "strengthened" their "line of defense" to the east of Salahuddin in an arc from Soukkari, south of this neighborhood, Bustan al-Kasr (north) via Mashhad (center ). The bombing continued in the evening against the rebel districts, said the commander. The opposition has called for demonstrations Friday, the day of prayer, with the slogan "Give us the anti-aircraft weapons." A security source said that "the army was advancing rapidly towards the area of ​​Seif al-Dawla, but the next battle should take place Soukkari" further south. "Only 10% of army reinforcements have been used so far in the battle," the source said, who had earlier indicated that 20,000 soldiers were deployed in the region of Aleppo to conduct this crucial battle for the regime. Nearly 17 months of violence have left more than 21,000 deaths across the country, according to Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (OSDH), an organization based in Britain who has also reported 96 dead, including 37 civilians among which three children, the only day on Thursday.

Meeting in Tehran

While the flow of refugees fleeing the violence grows every day, France has flown a military medical team to help those who are at the Jordanian border. Violations of human rights and humanitarian law have led "to a major population shift in Syria," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, calling it "the Syrian authorities and the parties involved in the conflict to respect international law ". The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that more than 276,000 Syrians fled the violence, mainly in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. Some 2,200 refugees have crossed the Turkish border in the last 24 hours, the total number now exceeding 50,000 in Turkey, said Thursday the Turkish authorities. The regime of President Assad, shaken by the defection of his Monday Riad Hijab head of government, has appointed Thursday the Minister of Health Wael al-Halqi as Prime Minister, said on Syrian television. Most senior to break with the regime of President Assad, Riad Hijab joined the opposition, according to a spokesman in Amman, and it arrived Wednesday morning with his family in Jordan, according to Jordanian authorities. On the diplomatic front, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, gave the kick-off Thursday in a conference on Syria in the presence of representatives of 29 countries, calling for "a national dialogue between the opposition with popular support and the Syrian government ", according to Iranian state television. Lebanon and Kuwait have declined the invitation, as Kofi Annan, the mediator has resigned from the UN and the Arab League. Western countries and most Gulf countries accused by Tehran of arming the rebels had not been invited.