Amateur video seems to show the bombardment of Aleppo by forces loyal to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

In footage, which cannot be independently verified, a building is seen on fire and residents trying in vain to put the flames out.

Battles raged on in the country's economic hub and nearby towns, local activists said.

Many homes had apparently collapsed due to shelling.

Assad promised on Tuesday to allow the Red Cross to expand its humanitarian operations in his country which is gripped by a 17-month insurgency that has forced more than 100,000 people to flee last month alone.