Opposition leader visits Syria

BEIRUT -- The Syrian opposition chief visited rebel-held suburbs of the embattled city of Aleppo for the first time yesterday as fighters trying to oust President Bashar Assad made significant strategic advances in the heavily contested northeast.

Assad, meanwhile, lashed out at the West for sending aid to those trying to oust him, delivering a blistering rebuke to Secretary of State John Kerry's announcement last week that the United States will for the first time provide medical aid and other nonlethal assistance directly to the fighters, in addition to $60 million in assistance to the political opposition.

Aleppo, the nation's largest city, has been a major front in the nearly 2-year-old conflict.

Mouaz al-Khatib met yesterday with Syrians living in the two rebel-held Aleppo suburbs of Manbah and Jarablus, a statement said. The stated goal of his trip to Manbah and Jarablus -- the first since he was named the leader of the Syrian National Coalition late last year -- was to inspect living conditions.

His foray into the edge of Aleppo also could be an attempt to boost his group's standing among civilians and fighters on the ground, many of whom see the Western-backed political leadership in exile as out of touch.

Al-Khatib's visit came as rebels captured a police academy west of Aleppo after an eight-day battle that left more than 200 Syrian soldiers and rebels dead, activists said.