BREAKING NEWS

US says it sees battle for Aleppo looming

ALEPPO - A long-expected Syrian army onslaught to drive rebel forces out of Aleppo is imminent, following a military build-up around the country's biggest city, a senior United Nations official said.
President Bashar Assad's forces killed more than 80 people in a series of attacks across the country on Friday and late on Thursday, opposition sources said, reporting intensified fighting in several cities.
The violence came within hours of former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan quitting as international peace envoy for Syria and underlined the impotence of mediation efforts in the 17-month-old uprising against Assad.