The battle for Aleppo is raging and civilians are paying the price.<br /><br /> Reports say at least 22 have been killed in a government barrel bomb attack as the tug of war for control of Syria’s second city intensifies.<br /><br /> Images on social media purportedly show the aftermath.<br /><br /> It looks like revenge for Wednesday’s blast at the regime’s Air Force Intelligence headquarters in the city. Rebels are said to have detonated explosives from a tunnel underneath the building.<br /><br /> The blast and subsequent fighting have reportedly killed 34 people on both sides.<br /><br /> Away from the frontline, French President Francois Hollande hosted leaders of Syria’s Western-backed political opposition.<br /><br /> And for the first time its leader announced that the departure of President al-Assad is no longer a pre-condition for peace talks.<br /><br /> But presenting this new strategy, Khaled Khoja, President of the Syrian Coalition, insisted:<br /><br /> “The fall of Bashar Assad was never a condition, not even at the Geneva talks, and yet the negoti
