US State Department spokesperson said Washington is planning to increase aid on top of a $15 million package already allocated for the opposition. Anti-Assad forces have also called on their foreign supporters to supply them with sophisticated weapons to use against government tanks and aircraft. That’s amid continuing clashes in the country’s northern city of Aleppo – where both the army and rebel forces claim progress. The focus of the battles have shifted to the Syrian commercial hub after regime troops flushed out rebels from Damascus over a week ago. But residents of the capital are on edge and on a very tight budget, reclaiming the basics they used to take for granted.