BEIRUT: Rebels in northern Syria are fighting to survive in the face of advances on their strongholds both by militants and government forces, analysts and regime opponents say.
The opposition has sounded the alarm, appealing indirectly to the international community to carry out air strikes on militants Islamic State (IS) positions in Syria, like the United States has done in Iraq.
"More than ever the rebellion is caught in a pincer movement between the regime and IS," says Karim Bitar, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for International and Strategic Relations.
"There is today a real risk it will quickly run low on the oxygen it needs to survive," the Middle East specialist said.
The IS militants, who have spread terror in Syria and seized vast swathes of land in Iraq, launched a lightning offensive Wednesday in northern Aleppo province, until now the centre of rebel strength, in order to cut off the rebels' supply route from adjoining Turkey.
The militants, who punish their enemies with beheadings, crucifixions and stonings, on Saturday vowed their "determination to free the northern province (Aleppo) and chase out the rebels."
In three days, IS fighters captured 10 villages and neighbourhoods and they are nearing the key rebel-held towns of Marea and Aazaz.
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