In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad speaks during an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, Oct. 7, 2013. Assad has conceded making mistakes and says no side in his country's civil war is entirely free of blame. (AP Photo/SANA) (The Associated Press)
BEIRUT – After heavy clashes, Syrian government forces have reopened a key road linking the central heartland with the embattled northern province of Aleppo.
The state-run SANA news agency and activists from Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say the road was reopened on Sunday night.
It was closed since August because of heavy fighting between government forces and rebels trying to topple President Bashar Assad's regime.
The move comes nearly a week after government troops captured the strategic town of Khanaser near the road. Over the past days, troops advanced in several surrounding villages.
SANA says troops "broke the siege," which had prevented supplies from reaching the provincial capital of Aleppo, Syria's largest city and once its commercial hub.
Rebels and government troops have fought for control of Aleppo since July.
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