Syrian Army slow paced advances towards establishing a 'Cordon Sanitaire' along the Turkish border

"...State media hailed the recapture by the army of three Christian neighbourhoods in the heart of Aleppo, but clashes between troops and rebel fighters raged in other parts of the city and in the southern belt of Damascus......
Aleppo residents reported heavy exchanges in the heart of the city during the army's recapture of three Christian neighbourhoods seized by the rebels at the weekend.
"We have had the worst two days of our lives," Sonia, the wife of a wealthy businessman in the northern city which is also Syria's commercial capital, told AFP by telephone.
"If our house weren't built like a fortress, we'd all be dead," said the resident of Telal, which the army seized on Wednesday along with Jdeide and Sulamaniyeh.
Jdeide and Telal were once frequented by tourists for their restaurants and handicraft shops but the heavy fighting between troops and fighters has left streets deserted apart from local youths on patrol, residents said.
After more than a month of fighting, the battle for Aleppo continued with fierce clashes and bombardment in other neighbourhoods of the city ..."The army is focusing its actions in the southern areas of Damascus and it is trying to cut off all connection between the city and the neighbouring countryside," he told AFP via Skype.
Nationwide, at least 72 people were killed in violence on Thursday, 44 of them civilians, the Observatory said, adding that a total of 24,495 people had now been killed since the uprising erupted."