ISIS & al-Nusra make ceasefire unlikely in Aleppo, Syrian troops tell RT

When the ceasefire brokered by Russia and the US comes into effect, there is little chance fighting will stop, RT’s Lizzie Phelan reports form Aleppo, citing the Syrian Army’s determination to fight terrorist groups, which are not part of the truce.

The Syrian army insists that Jabhat al-Nusra, Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, and Islamic State (IS, ISIS/ISIL) maintain strong presence everywhere in parts of the city held by the opposition. Both terrorist groups are excluded from the ceasefire agreement.

“We can see their flags everywhere,” a Syrian soldier told RT.

“In some areas there may be a ceasefire, but in most of Aleppo and surrounding countryside it's Al-Nusra and ISIS, and we won't stop fighting until we get rid of them,” a Syrian officer said.

Phelan’s crew has clearly witnessed Jabhat al Nusra’s flags in the Hamidiyah and al-Sayyed Ali neighborhoods of the city, where opposition groups included into the ceasefire, such as the Islamic Front, are also present.

For years now Aleppo has been a divided city, split between East and West, between the Syrian Army and a constantly changing array of anti-government militias.

The constant fighting has sucked the city dry of all basic necessities, such as water and electricity.

In the predominantly Christian neighborhood of Salamaniyah, residents fill up containers from an underground well and lug them back to their homes.

But on top of all these shortages, thousands live in the line of fire on Aleppo’s countless frontlines.

People living in the Maysaloon neighborhood showed the RT correspondent a building completely leveled by a direct hit of a “hell cannon,” an improvised artillery round fired by opposition militants from the other side of the frontline. The entire family living in that house was killed in that attack, locals told RT.

To find out more on the situation in Aleppo watch the full report by RT’s Lizzie Phelan.