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The Syrian Army on Thursday brought to an end the siege of Aleppo central prison, which lasted for a year.
According to reports, by doing so, the Syrian army has cut off a major supply route for the rebels, only two weeks before Presidential elections in the country, which President Bashar Assad is widely tipped to win.
Armored vehicles and tanks moved into prison grounds in Aleppo, with intense celebratory gunfire heard inside the complex, theSyrian Observatory for Human Rights said. “After a siege of nearly 13 months by Al-Nusra Front and Islamist rebels, regular armed forces backed by pro-regime fighters were able to break the siege of Aleppo central prison”, the Observatory said.
Before the army advanced near the prison grounds, an aerial assault, using destructive sharpened-filled barrels bombs was launched on the prison, the observatory added.
Only a few hours earlier, the UN Security Council voted on a resolution which would let the International Criminal Court investigate into alleged war crimes in Syria. Russia had threatened to veto the resolution.
Now that the siege has ended, the Syrian army and its allies, like the Hezbollah, can reach Castelo road easily. Rebel forces in Aleppo have relied on the road as a supply route since it leads to the countryside, used as a rear base.
The Aleppo province borders Turkey, which supports the revolt in Syria. Since March 2011, when the revolt began, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have sought refuge in Turkey.
In February, rebel forces had launched an assault on the prison and taken over it, before they were partially driven back by multiple air raids. Many prisoners were killed in the siege because a lack of medicine and food, and because of poor hygiene. Before the siege, the prison held nearly 4,000 prisoners. According to the Observatory, poor humanitarian conditions and regular strikes on the region caused the death of around 600 inmates.