Civilians face shortages amid Aleppo fight

BEIRUT -- Food and cooking gas were in short supply and power cuts plunged homes into darkness as soldiers and rebels battled Tuesday to tip the scales in the fight for Aleppo, Syria's largest city and the current focus of its civil war.

Life for Aleppo's 3 million residents was becoming increasingly unbearable as a military siege entered its 11th day. While rebels seized two police stations, Syrian ground forces pummeled the opposition strongholds of Salaheddine and Seif al-Dawla in the city's southwest, activists said. Government helicopters also pounded those neighborhoods.

"There is not enough food and people are trying to leave" Mohammed Saeed, an activist in the city, told The Associated Press by Skype. "We really need support from the outside. There is random shelling against civilians," he added. Days of shelling have forced many civilians to flee to other neighborhoods or even escape the city altogether. The UN said Sunday 200,000 had left.

As the bloodshed mounted, the Arab League chief accused President Bashar Assad's regime of atrocities. "The massacres that are happening in Aleppo and other places in Syria amount to war crimes that are punishable under international law," Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby said in Cairo. -- AP