Aleppo rebels form new alliance to halt ferocious government assault

Rebels in Aleppo on Thursday announced the formation of a new military alliance as fighters begin desperate attempts to organise united defences against a ferocious assault by the government and its allies.

The Syrian government assault has driven rebels from more than a third of the territory they held in eastern Aleppo in a matter of days, threatening to crush the rebellion in its most important urban stronghold.

The two officials, speaking from Turkey, said the new alliance would be called the "Aleppo Army" and led by the commander of the Jabha Shamiya rebel faction, known as the Levant Front in English and one of the major groups fighting in northern Syria under the Free Syrian Army banner.

An official with a second rebel group confirmed that the Jabha Shamiya's Abu Abdelrahman Nour had been selected as the leader.

READ: Aleppo is falling while Syrian opposition weighs its options

In an interview with the Reuters news agency last week, Nour urged greater support from foreign states that back the opposition.

Rivalry among rebel groups has been seen as one of their major flaws throughout the war.

Jabha Shamiya has received support from Turkey and other states that want Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, removed from power.

The announcement came after Assad's ally Russia said it expected Aleppo to be fully under government control by the end of the year.

"We are hoping for this of course," said Russia's deputy foreign minister, Mikhail Bogdanov. 

"We need to force these terrorists out in the same way as they need to be forced out in Mosul and in Raqqa. It's a general task."

Zakaria Malahifji, the head of the political office of the Aleppo-based Fastaqim rebel group, told Reuters on Wednesday that rebel groups in the city had rejected any withdrawal.

"This is the decision of the factions. I spoke to them about everything that was tabled and they said they would not withdraw, and other things may also happen," he said from Turkey, without giving further details.

Russia-rebel talks: report 

Meanwhile, reports suggested on Thursday that Syrian rebel leaders were holding in secret talks in Ankara with Russian representatives to end the battle for Aleppo.

The Financial Times reported that four opposition members said Turkey had brokered the talks, which focused on negotiating a deal to stop the fighting.

“The Russians and Turks are talking without the US now. [Washington] is completely shut out of these talks, and doesn’t even know what’s going on in Ankara,” said one opposition figure who asked not to be identified.

Ali Sheikh Omar, an Aleppo council leader, said politicians in rebel-held eastern districts had agreed a team that they want to join negotiations.

“Negotiations are being done directly with the Russians because we all know at this point that Bashar al-Assad is nothing more than a provincial governor carrying out the orders of [Vladimir] Putin,” he told the newspaper.