BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army said it had taken control of an important district in rebel-held eastern Aleppo on Saturday after fierce fighting, with rebels blaming intense air strikes and lack of hospitals for their collapsing frontline. Government forces advanced with a ground and air assault on the edge of the besieged eastern half of the city, a move the rebels say is designed to split their most important urban stronghold in two. Aleppo, which was Syria’s biggest city before the start of a civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, is divided between the government-held west and rebel-held east, where U.N. officials say at least 250,000 people are under siege. A spokesman for Jabha Shamiya, one of the leading rebel groups fighting President Bashar Al-assad, condemned the "international silence" regarding Aleppo. Syrian state media said on Monday the army and its allies had captured the al-Sakhour district from rebels in eastern Aleppo, an advance that risks splintering the opposition-held area in two. The Syrian army said in a statement that, with the help of allies, they have taken control of the Hanano housing district - adding: "Engineering teams are removing mines and improvised explosive devices planted by terrorists in the squares and streets." The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring organization based in Britain, said the army had established control over Hanano, which was the first part of Aleppo taken over by armed opposition groups in 2012. He condemned the “international silence” and said the government and its allies were trying to exploit the period before the next U.S. administration took over. The spokesman said: "The Iranians, Russians and regime know there is a vacuum and they are trying to exploit it using all means. “We are in touch with the friendly states but unfortunately Aleppo is being left to be slaughtered.”

Yasser al-Yousef, from the political office of the Nour al-Din al-Zinki rebel group, said insurgents had fought fiercely for more than 48 hours to defend Hanano and the southern front of east Aleppo from heavy government bombardment. In the 12 days since the renewed bombardment on eastern Aleppo, at least 201 civilians including 27 children have died in the sector - according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights.
Syrian Armed Forces have captured the entire Hanano district in eastern Aleppo and are working on removing mines and improvised explosive devices from the district, while the rebels blame lack of hospitals for collapsing defences.