Syrians in the contested city of Aleppo queue for food on Sunday, in a line controlled by government troops.<br/> <br />The past days have seen the beginning of a large-scale face-off between Syrian rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.<br/> <br />On the ground, Aleppo residents say food is scarce.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNIDENTIFIED ALEPPO RESIDENT, SAYING:<br/> <br />"Thanks to God we have at least a few things given to us by these guys. We find some of our own food. And we get bread here."<br/> <br />But shortages aren't the biggest problem.<br/> <br />At one hospital alone, doctors say they are treating dozens of wounded each day.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MEDIC, ABDUSAMEA AL-AHMAD, SAYING:<br/> <br />"Some days we get 30, 40, 50 wounded people and that's not included the corpses or the body parts."<br/> <br />Forces loyal to Assad said they had recaptured the district of Salaheddine after heavy fighting with rebels, who still control much of Syria's biggest city.<br/> <br />But rebel fighters said they were holding off government troops.<br/> <br />Reuters journalists were unable to approach the district after nightfall on Sunday to verify whether rebels had been pushed out.<br/> <br />The government has dubbed the fight for Syria's commercial hub "the mother of all battles".<br/> <br />Travis Brecher, Reuters
