BEIRUT //The Syrian army used tanks and helicopters to bombard parts of Aleppo yesterday as the feared air and ground assault against rebel fighters in Syria's largest city began.
Regime forces who have been building up in and around the city moved on south-western districts of Aleppo, where rebel fighters have been largely in control for the past week.
Activists said the attack began yesterday morning as the army bombarded several areas before armoured units moved in. Salaheddine, a neighbourhood in the south-west of the city that was one of the first to be seized by rebel fighters, bore the brunt of much of the attacks.
Video posted online showed rebels fighting government forces on a street in Salaheddine that echoed with the sound of gunfire, as plumes of smoke rose from buildings hit by explosions.
"The regime's forces tried to storm the headquarters of Salaheddine but, thank God, the heroes of the Free Syrian Army repulsed the attack," FSA Colonel Abdel Jabbar Al Oqaidi said.
"We have now destroyed eight armoured vehicles. There are 100 tanks massed on the outskirts of the district. The battle will be hard because there is no balance of forces, but we are determined and we have faith in God."
Syria's state news agency, Sana, described violence in the Furqan district as "a terrorist group … terrorising residents".
Activists said thousands of people tried to flee the escalating violence in the city. Some families left clutching jars of preserves and bottles of milk and water amid food shortages. Those who were not able to get away in time hid in basements.
Three women sheltering in a Salaheddin basement were all armed with small pistols. "I would choose death rather than be attacked by the regime soldiers," one said.
Foreign powers have expressed concern about the potential for massive civilian casualties in the city as the fighting escalates. Even Russia, a key Syrian ally, yesterday warned of a looming tragedy in Aleppo, home to about three million people and the country's commercial hub.
However, Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, said the Syrian military could not be expected to stand by while opposition fighters took control of major urban areas.
"We are persuading the government that they need to make some first gestures," he said. "But when the armed opposition are occupying cities like Aleppo, where yet another tragedy is brewing as I understand … it is not realistic to expect that they will accept this."
Mr Lavrov also stressed his country has not entered into an agreement to grant Mr Al Assad asylum.
"We have said more than once publicly that we are not even thinking about this," he told reporters when asked about media reports of a possible asylum deal.//
Despite failed attempts to get the United Nations Security Council to agree on a unified stand on Syria, the French president Francois Hollande yesterday again called on the council to intervene in the conflict "as quickly as possible" to prevent further chaos.
Turkey also added its voice to the growing international condemnation of the Syrian government's actions in Aleppo. Speaking in London, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the country's prime minister, said it was not possible "to remain an observer or spectator" to the offensive and urged the international community to act.
"What is happening is very important and very dangerous," said Mr Erdogan.
"There is a regime there that kills and massacres its own people. We must do what we can together, in the United Nations Security Council and also in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League, to make sure that we can make some important progress in trying to avert this appalling situation."
More than 20,000 people have now been killed since the uprising against the regime of Bashar Al Assad began in March last year, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday. Most of the dead have been civilians and rebel fighters, said the group, which also recorded the deaths of more than 5,000 members of the security forces.
At least 120 people were killed across the country yesterday, including more than 20 children, according to the Local Coordination Committees. The group, a network of Syrian activists, said at least 30 people were killed in Aleppo and 22 in the Damascus area.
Four children were killed in Moadamiyat Sham on the outskirts of Damascus, when the area was hit by intense shelling, according to the LCC.
Activists also reported further violence across the country yesterday including in Idlib, Hama and Deir Ezzor.
These reports could not be verified.
Russia warned yesterday that it would not cooperate with the requirements of recent European Union sanctions that sought to impose a stricter arms embargo on the Assad regime.
Moscow said it would not allow EU states to search vessels that may be suspected of transporting weapons to Syria.
"We … will not consider appeals and give consent to searches of vessels sailing under the Russian flag, nor to the application of other restrictive measures to them," the Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said.
Moscow has been heavily criticised for continuing arms shipments to the Syrian government during the civil war.
Syrian state television said security forces had freed two foreigners captured earlier this month by an armed group.
"Our forces have managed to release two Italians who were kidnapped by terrorists in the Damascus countryside," it said, with footage of the men being interviewed.
The captured men, believed to be Italian engineers working at a power plant south of Damascus, were en route to the airport over a week ago when they were taken by masked men.
It is not known who abducted them. Giulio Terzi, the Italian foreign minister, their release.
zconstantine@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Reuters, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
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The%20specs
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
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Torque: 859Nm
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
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- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Ahmed Raza
UAE cricket captain
Age: 31
Born: Sharjah
Role: Left-arm spinner
One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95
T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28
The 10 Questions
- Is there a God?
- How did it all begin?
- What is inside a black hole?
- Can we predict the future?
- Is time travel possible?
- Will we survive on Earth?
- Is there other intelligent life in the universe?
- Should we colonise space?
- Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?
- How do we shape the future?
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
More on Quran memorisation:
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Brief scores:
Liverpool 3
Mane 24', Shaqiri 73', 80'
Manchester United 1
Lingard 33'
Man of the Match: Fabinho (Liverpool)
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
The bio:
Favourite holiday destination: I really enjoyed Sri Lanka and Vietnam but my dream destination is the Maldives.
Favourite food: My mum’s Chinese cooking.
Favourite film: Robocop, followed by The Terminator.
Hobbies: Off-roading, scuba diving, playing squash and going to the gym.
THE DETAILS
Deadpool 2
Dir: David Leitch
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Justin Dennison, Zazie Beetz
Four stars
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances