Syrian rebels retreat amid heavy shelling

Aleppo, Syria  – Syrian activists say clashes between government forces and rebels continued in Aleppo Thursday, a day after the military launched a new air and ground assault on rebel positions in the country’s largest city.

The battle for the city has now raged for more than two weeks.

The fighting in Aleppo has focused mainly on the neighbourhood of Salaheddin, where heavy clashes have taken place in recent days between the Free Syrian Army and government forces.
 
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that nearly 170 people died in fighting across the country Wednesday, including 33 people in Aleppo.
 
Meanwhile, three days after Prime Minister Riad Hijab defected to the opposition, the health minister Wael al-Halqi has been named as his replacement.
 
Halqi is a Baath Party loyalist from Deraa in the south of the country, where the uprising began in March last year, and where violence is still raging, our correspondent says.
Riad Hijab, whose defection was considered the most significant since the revolt began, was said to have crossed into Jordan on Wednesday.

Also on Thursday, Lebanese sources confirmed the detention of Assad ally Michel Samaha, who is being questioned over alleged plans to cause instability in Lebanon.

A senior official cited by AFP news agency said his arrest was connected to the discovery of explosives in northern Lebanon.
 
Meanwhile, Syrian ally Iran is hosting talks in Tehran with representatives from nearly 30 countries