Syrian government shelling killed 21 civilians, including two children, in an eastern district of Aleppo early Wednesday, a monitoring group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens more were wounded in the artillery fire on the rebel-held Jubb Al-Qubbeh district. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said the shelling there was "fierce," and many people were stuck under the rubble of collapsed buildings. According to the White Helmets, a rescue group in opposition-controlled Syrian territory, the artillery fire hit a group of displaced civilians seeking refuge from other eastern districts. More than 50,000 people have been displaced since regime forces began a ferocious offensive on rebels in second city Aleppo two weeks ago, according to the Observatory. Fighters loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad have already seized at least a third of eastern Aleppo, an opposition stronghold since 2012. More than 300,000 people have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with protests calling for Assad's ouster. Syrian rebels will not withdraw from eastern Aleppo, a rebel official said on Wednesday, indicating they plan to fight on against an intense assault by government forces that seized control of swathes of the opposition-held area in recent days. "A withdrawal by the factions is rejected," Zakaria Malahifji, head of the political office of the Aleppo-based Fastaqim rebel group told Reuters, speaking from Turkey. "This is the decision of the factions. I spoke to them about everything that was tabled and they said they would not withdraw, and other things may also happen," he said, without giving further details. — Agencies
