Aleppo Under Military Siege

As Syria's athletes walked proudly into last night's Olympic opening ceremony, fighting in their homeland reached its highest pitch yet. Aleppo, the nation's largest city and commercial center, fell under aerial assault Saturday from scores of military helicopters determined to turn the tide back toward the country’s president, Bashar al-Assad. "Helicopters are participating in clashes at the entrance of Salaheddine district and bombarding it," a human-rights group told Reuters, and reported that 160 people were killed across the country on Friday. As the rebels face their fiercest challenge yet, even Turkey, a former Syria ally, has stepped up pressure on al-Assad.