Syrian troops have pressed an advance on the strategic area of Sfeira, the site of several arms factories near Aleppo.
The London-based opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday that fierce clashes were raging between the foreign-backed militants and government troops on the eastern side of Sfeira, “amid a loyalist advance on the town, as troops take control of a new area."
Battles have raged in the Sfeira area near second-city Aleppo for several months.
The area is important because of the arms factories and because it is located on a key route linking Aleppo to central Syria.
Sfeira has been under rebel control for a year, but the factories have remained in army hands.
The army advance opens up the entry of the loyalists to government to Aleppo city, which has seen intense fighting since a rebel advance on July 20, 2012.
Some parts of the city are already controlled by the government while others are in militant hands.
BA/BA
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