Pro-Govt. Gains in Aleppo ahead of Key Syria Talks

Syrian pro-government forces used intense air strikes as cover for an advance in the battleground city of Aleppo on Friday, ahead of fresh diplomatic efforts to end the country's intractable conflict.

The United States and Russia, which support opposite sides in the five-year war, will meet in Switzerland on Saturday to try to resurrect the peace process.

Moscow has faced rising international criticism over its backing for President Bashar Assad's onslaught in divided Aleppo, including Western accusations of possible war crimes.

Violence has continued unabated in the northern city, once Syria's commercial hub but now ravaged by Russian and regime air strikes in support of a major government offensive against rebels.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitor, said Russian and Syrian warplanes pounded opposition-controlled eastern districts again on Friday, though it did not have any immediate information on casualties.

It said pro-government forces had used the air raids to advance southwards from positions in north Aleppo with the goal of "opening a route to the airport," east of the city.

The intensified bombardment has put a severe strain on rescue workers and medical staff in east Aleppo, home to an estimated 250,000 residents under siege.

"This recent escalation has been huge and we've had a lot of work," said Ibrahim Abu al-Leith, a spokesman for the White Helmets rescue force in Aleppo.

He said rescuers were still working to dislodge people from under the rubble in the Tariq al-Bab eastern district. 

- Bleeding to death -

AFP's correspondent in east Aleppo said some people had been stuck under the rubble for at least two days as rescuers scrambled between neighborhoods. 

Teams have been afraid to work at night, fearing that the large floodlights would attract warplanes circling overhead.

Some people trapped under collapsed buildings bled to death after White Helmets teams were unable to reach them in time.

Since the collapse last month of a truce brokered by Washington and Moscow, Aleppo has been engulfed by some of the worst violence of the conflict. 

More than 370 people, including nearly 70 children, have been killed in regime and Russian bombardment of east Aleppo since the regime's assault began on September 22, the Observatory said.

Dozens of civilians, including children, have also died in rebel bombardment of regime-controlled western districts, according to the monitor, which compiles its information from sources on the ground.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are expected to hold fresh talks to try to revive the ceasefire deal in Lausanne on Saturday.

U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura will attend, along with the chief diplomats from Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar -- all backers of Syrian opposition forces. 

Then in London on Sunday, Kerry will likely meet up with his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany.

Lavrov played down hopes of a breakthrough in Lausanne, telling reporters on Friday he had no "special expectations" for progress. 

- Aleppo as a 'springboard' -

In an interview with Russia's Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid published Friday, Assad said he would use a victory in Aleppo as a "springboard" to capture other rebel strongholds.

"It's going to be the springboard, as a big city, to move to another areas, to liberate another areas from the terrorists," the Syrian president said. 

He said his next target could be northwestern Idlib province.

Idlib is held by an alliance of rebels and jihadists including the Fateh al-Sham Front, which changed its name from al-Nusra Front when it cut ties with al-Qaida. 

"You have to keep cleaning this area and to push the terrorists to Turkey to go back to where they come from, or to kill them. There's no other option," Assad said.

Also on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a law ratifying a deal with Syria -- first signed in August 2015 -- to establish Russia's Hmeimim airbase to launch pro-regime operations. 

Russia has long provided political and financial support to Syria and began its bombing campaign there in September 2015.

Moscow offered on Thursday to "ensure the safe withdrawal" of rebel groups and civilians from eastern Aleppo. There was no immediate response from the rebels.

Near Damascus, more than 1,200 people including rebel fighters and their families were bussed out of the towns of Qudsaya and al-Haamah on Thursday under a local deal with the government.