Syrian government unleashes heavy artillery in nation's largest city - Detroit Free Press

BEIRUT -- The Syrian government launched an offensive Saturday to retake rebel-held neighborhoods in the nation's commercial hub of Aleppo, unleashing artillery, tanks and helicopter gunships against poorly armed opposition fighters.

Yet after a day of fighting, the ragtag rebel forces remained in control of their neighborhoods in Syria's largest city, activists said, suggesting they had successfully fought off the government's initial assault.

The government-controlled al-Watan newspaper celebrated the assault with a headline proclaiming the fight for Aleppo as "the mother of all battles."

The international community has raised an outcry about a possible massacre in the city of 3 million but acknowledged there was little they could do to stop the bloodshed.

But Russia stood by President Bashar Assad.

On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the bloodshed in Aleppo a tragedy, but asked what else the government could do against the rebellion.

"Now the city of Aleppo is occupied by the armed opposition; another tragedy is imminent there," he said. "How can it be hoped that in such a situation the government will simply give in, say, 'OK, I wasn't right, overthrow me, change the regime' -- it's simply unrealistic."

Russia has been a key source of support for Syria, although in recent months Moscow officials have said they are simply taking a more even-handed approach while the West offers support to the rebels.

The rebels are estimated to control between a third and a half of the neighborhoods in the sprawling city, especially a cluster in the northeast around Sakhour neighborhood and in the southwest.

They began their attempt to wrest Aleppo from the government's control a week ago. About 162 people have been killed, mostly civilians, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which does not include soldiers in its toll. About 19,000 people have been killed since the uprising began in March 2011, the group estimated.

Activists estimate that at least two dozen had died in Saturday's fighting.

In a statement, the Arab League expressed "deep dissatisfaction for the Syrian regime's acts of oppression," particularly the use of heavy weapons against its own people. It urged Syria "to stop the cycle of killing and violence and lift the siege off the Syrian neighborhoods under attack."

It has been a difficult two weeks for the Syrian regime, with assaults on its two main cities, a bomb that killed four top security officials and a string of high-profile defections.

The country's military apparatus, though, has remained intact and continues to crush the opposition's remnants in Damascus and its outskirts.

If they try to make a stand in Aleppo, the rebels risk being annihilated by superior firepower, and may instead withdraw to preserve their forces as they did in Damascus last week.