With 200,000 fleeing Aleppo, fighting in Syria intensified in the 16-month long struggle opposing the rule of Bashar al-Assad. While fighting still grips Homs after a brutal siege, the conflict has moved north to finally include commercial hub Aleppo - largely spared until now - a city of over two million. Both the Syrian army and the rebel Free Syrian Army claim advances in the battle for Aleppo,
![Battle for Aleppo intensifies Syrian conflict](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/6ab97a1c757936724d437616ea68844023ff0e86/height=288;version=1;width=512/http%3A%2F%2Finapcache.boston.com%2Funiversal%2Fsite_graphics%2Fblogs%2Fbigpicture%2Farchive%2F246972.jpg)