Syria: Troops clash with rebels in Aleppo city

Syrian troops clashed with rebels in the city of Aleppo for a second day today, forcing inhabitants to flee to safer areas in some of the fiercest fighting to date in the heart of the country’s northern commercial hub, activists said.

Until recently, Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, has remained largely loyal to president Bashar Assad and has been spared the kind of daily bloodshed that has plagued other cities over the course of the uprising against him.