Syria: Assad troops launch heavy assault on Aleppo The underpasses and motorways of the district were captured by the rebels last summer and have served as the launch pad for the opposition fighters to extend their control across two-thirds of the northern city since. The schools and office buildings in Sakhour have served as headquarters for rebel brigades that have steadily pushed the Syrian army back street by street from the heart of the city. Thousands of Aleppo residents turned out in support for the uprising at a street demonstration in nearby Tareq al-Bab near the heart of the old city. "It is a strategic area," said one rebel activist. What's changed is that Iran and Hizbollah have tipped the balance for the Syria army and they are determined to take advantage of their new support. The attack on Sakhour comes a week after Syrian government forces backed by Hizbollah captured the town of Qusayr near the Lebanon border. Regime forces were also fighting further south as the regime set its sights on securing control of the central provinces of Homs and Hama, a linchpin area linking Damascus with regime strongholds on the Mediterranean coast, and Aleppo to the north. In a televised address to his supporters, Hassan Nasrallah, the Hizbollah leader, warned that his fighters would continued to fight on President Assad's side as it sweeps north. Before Qusair is the same as after Qusayrr. Nothing has changed," he said. Isn't the conspiracy the same? Have the facts changed? On the contrary, the other side is stirring up this conflict even more. Where we need to be, we will be. Where we began to assume our responsibilities, we will continue to assume our responsibilities.