ALEPPO, Syria — The city of Aleppo and its northern countryside have been under intensified shelling by the forces of President Bashar al-Assad's regime and its allies, in what seems to be a prelude to a massive attack on the city. Since April 25, the neighborhoods controlled by the Syrian opposition in the city of Aleppo have been under the bombardment of various types of weapons, including barrel bombs, missiles and rockets.

The daily bombing has produced many civilian casualties. On June 5, more than 53 people were killed in the regime’s raids on the neighborhoods of Katerji, Karam al-Jabal and al-Zabadieh.

The residents of the city of Aleppo, after the horror of shelling, are now most troubled by the prospect of a siege by the regime’s forces. To lay siege to the city of Aleppo, the regime forces are betting on cutting Castello Road, which is the only outlet connecting the opposition-controlled areas in Aleppo to its northern countryside and through the province of Idlib to Turkey. To that end, the regime has been shelling this road almost continuously ever since the escalation of the bombing in Aleppo on April 25. One of the most prominent potential points of attack is the nearby Handarat camp.

On Al-Monitor’s way to the Handarat camp on June 1, cars were swerving to avoid the holes left by the heavy shelling. Various cars and trucks were set ablaze and blocked the way until the civil defense teams could remove them. On May 31, seven civilians were killed on the road when their car was bombed by regime forces.