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| Aleppo prison siege 'broken by Syrian troops' | Aleppo prison siege 'broken by Syrian troops' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Syrian forces have broken a year-long rebel siege of a prison in the northern city of Aleppo, reports say. | Syrian forces have broken a year-long rebel siege of a prison in the northern city of Aleppo, reports say. |
| UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say forces entered the complex, although this has not been confirmed. | UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say forces entered the complex, although this has not been confirmed. |
| Thousands of inmates are held in the prison, which has been the scene of fierce fighting for months as rebels have tried to capture it. | Thousands of inmates are held in the prison, which has been the scene of fierce fighting for months as rebels have tried to capture it. |
| The area is strategically important as it lies near a key supply route for fighters in rebel-held parts of Aleppo. | The area is strategically important as it lies near a key supply route for fighters in rebel-held parts of Aleppo. |
| Some 60,000 people in the rebel- and government-held parts of Aleppo province received food aid for the first time in months on Wednesday after the International Committee of the Red Cross was granted access. | Some 60,000 people in the rebel- and government-held parts of Aleppo province received food aid for the first time in months on Wednesday after the International Committee of the Red Cross was granted access. |
| ICRC president Peter Maurer said the operation, which will continue for the next few days, is the largest of its kind in recent months. | ICRC president Peter Maurer said the operation, which will continue for the next few days, is the largest of its kind in recent months. |
| 'Cut supply route' | |
| The Syrian Observatory's (SOHR) director, Rami Abdel Rahman, said "regular armed forces backed by pro-regime fighters" had been able "to break the siege of Aleppo central prison". | |
| Tanks and armoured vehicles "entered the grounds of the prison", he told the AFP news agency. | Tanks and armoured vehicles "entered the grounds of the prison", he told the AFP news agency. |
| Two Lebanese television stations, which are close to the Syrian government, also reported that the siege had been ended by government troops. | Two Lebanese television stations, which are close to the Syrian government, also reported that the siege had been ended by government troops. |
| Fighters with the Nusra Front and other Islamist rebel groups began besieging the prison in April 2013. | Fighters with the Nusra Front and other Islamist rebel groups began besieging the prison in April 2013. |
| They have since launched several attacks - including car bombs - trying to free as many as 3,000 inmates believed to be held inside the prison. | |
| Briton Abdul Waheed Majeed died in February driving a truck bomb into the gates of the prison. | |
| Mr Abdel Rahman said the recapture of the prison and its surrounding area by government forces had "cut a path for essential supplies to rebel fighters between areas they control and the Turkish border". | |
| Aleppo is Syria's largest city, and has been firmly divided into opposition and loyalist controlled areas. | |
| Pro-government forces have kept up an aerial bombardment of rebel-held parts of the city in recent months, causing thousands of casualties. | |
| The SOHR - which has a network of activists around the country reporting on the violence - says more than 162,000 people have been killed in the three-year conflict. |