Syrian troops advanced in and around the northern city of Aleppo on Monday in what appears to be an attempt to lay siege to rebel-held parts of the country's largest city, activists said Monday.
If successful, it would be the biggest blow to opposition fighters in Syria's largest city since they entered it two years ago. Aleppo, once Syria's commercial center, has been carved up into rebel- and government-controlled areas since an opposition offensive in mid-2012.
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/7/7/syria-governmentaleppo.html