SYRIAN troops backed by Palestinian militia continued their renewed push to take the Handarat refugee camp north of Aleppo city yesterday.

The army and the al-Quds Brigade — volunteers from the Palestinian refugees displaced from the suburb by rebels early in the conflict — had been battling militants from the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and the Free Syrian Army since Tuesday.

Clashes intensified after Syrian and Russian aircraft hit insurgent positions in the morning, also reportedly blitzing the Castello Road, the only supply route to the rebel-occupied east of the city.

The army, militia and Russian naval infantry were preparing to liberate the al-Shaar gas fields north-east of Palmyra following a recent Islamic State (Isis) counter­offensive. The setback has delayed the capture of Arak to the east, but the recent gain of Tal Sawanah has put the army on a good footing.

But in the mountainous north of Latakia province, insurgents recaptured Tall Haddadeh hill yesterday afternoon, hours after the army briefly took it.

And in the north-western city of Hassakeh, army reservists clashed with the Kurdish Asayish militia who, it was claimed, were preventing school students from sitting their exams.

In Vienna, United Nations special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura expressed hope for a return to peace talks in Geneva between the Syrian government and Saudi-backed insurgent groups.

On Tuesday the International Syria Support Group of nations called for a return to talks and for groups under the umbrella of Riyadh’s High Negotiating Committee to distance themselves from Nusra and Isis.