Little hope for temporary truce in Aleppo

According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the fighting centered around the town of Atarib, around 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Aleppo.

The Observatory said that Nusra Front fighters overran several Hazm bases and that at least 29 Hazm fighters and six Nusra Front militants were killed in the battle.

There has been friction between the two groups at least since November, when the Nusra Front managed to expel a mainstream rebel group from the northern province of Idlib.

The Nusra Front often cooperates with moderate rebel groups, but has turned hard-line and become the target of US airstrikes. The Hazm Movement, on the other hand, has received support from Washington in the past.

Ceasefire talks

Meanwhile, both the SANA state news agency and the Syrian Observatory have reported that government troops backed by Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon - together with Iranian advisers and Iraqi militiamen - have taken control of three villages and several hills in the Daraa province to the southwest of Damascus.

The battle of the regime troops against opposition rebels and the Nusra Front has left seven rebels dead, the Observatory said.

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura has arrived in Damascus in the hope of realizing his project to enforce a truce in Aleppo for a temporary period of six weeks so that aid can be brought into the city. Such a local truce would also be the first step towards a larger easing of hostilities, de Mistura hopes.

De Mistura said recently that the Syrian government had agreed to suspend air attacks and artillery fire on Aleppo. He has requested the armed opposition to suspend their rocket and mortar shelling during the same period, but the opposition is still angry with him for describing Assad as "part of the solution" earlier in February.

ac/bk (AP, AFP)