Shelling hits rebel Aleppo: monitor

Syrian government artillery bombarded the fast-shrinking rebel enclave in the heart of Aleppo on Friday despite its ally Russia’s announcement of a new humanitarian pause, a monitor said. An AFP correspondent in the rebel-held enclave reported hearing the boom of artillery through the night. “There was heavy shelling of several besieged districts and fierce fighting, particularly in Bustan al-Qasr,” one of the biggest districts still in rebel hands after the army’s blistering three-week offensive, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.