BEIRUT- Syrian government forces and rebels waged fierce battles north of Aleppo on Friday, a week into a Russian-backed offensive by the Syrian army to take the entire city.
Syrian government forces made a significant advance on Thursday north of Aleppo, capturing the Handarat refugee camp, a few kilometers (miles) from the city. There were conflicting accounts on the outcome of the fighting.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said government forces had built on the Handarat advance and captured the adjacent Kindi Hospital area on Friday morning, edging closer to the city.