ALEPPO (REUTERS) - This is Aleppo now.

Ripped open streets - fractured buildings - once the commercial hub of Syria.

Video released by the Syrian Army shows troops on the move in a years long battle for control of the city.

The city, Syria's largest before the war, has seen an escalation of fighting after peace talks and a fragile ceasefire broke down earlier this year.

Rebels holding out say they have stockpiled enough basic supplies to survive months of siege by pro-government forces that cut off their half of the city last week.

The US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said President Bashar al-Assad's attempts to encircle eastern Aleppo would have "potentially devastating consequences".

Its capture would be a strategic prize for Damascus, which now controls major population centers in western Syria, apart from rebel-held areas of Aleppo, and the city of Idlib.