OPPOSITION forces spearheaded by the group formerly known as the Nusra Front breached the Syrian government siege of Aleppo yesterday after the Qatari-backed rebels launched a fresh offensive.

The al-Qaida affiliate now known as the Levant Conquest Front (LCF) pushed government forces and allied fighters out of a number of military colleges, a warehouse, a bakery, a car park and a section of a major road in the southern Ramouseh district where fighting has raged for a week.

US-backed “moderate” rebels have cast off all pretence of distancing themselves from jihadi extremists by allying openly with the LCF in a so-called Army of Conquest Alliance.