At least 30 people, including women and children, were killed in the besieged districts of the Syrian city of Aleppo, for two nights of attacks by rebel forces, according to UK-based Syrian Observatory for human rights.

The rebel group announced on Sunday evening that they launched an offensive in some districts in an attempt to break the siege of the Eastern part of the city the Syrian government carried out by the rebels since July 2012.

While the area endured days of deadly rebel attacks, some areas have been under attack for more than 80 consecutive days, with regular bombing with the support of Russian aviation.

A Russian helicopter was shot down Monday over the province of Idlib, killing all five people who were on Board. The Kremlin said that the team delivered humanitarian aid to Aleppo and a helicopter were shot down as they returned to base.

The situation in the Eastern part of Aleppo quickly plunged into a humanitarian crisis. The city was left without basic food, water, fuel and medical supplies, as was in a siege and cut off from the rest of the country. The government stated that 3 open a humanitarian corridor, as for getting supplies and people trying to leave the city. But only 169 civilians have fled over the weekend, the Russian military said that from 200,000 to 300,000 people are trapped. CNN sources on the ground believe that people are too afraid to run.
sections: Politics, World News, Accidents, Accidents