Syria's prime minister has made a dangerous visit to the war-damaged city of Aleppo in an attempt to shore up support for president Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Wael al-Halki is considered a top target by Syrian rebels who control many districts of Aleppo, Syria's largest city.

It is the first time in months that a senior Syrian government figure has shown up there.

It is speculated that Mr Halki's visit, which included an announcement of aid for Aleppo's war weary residents, may be intended to show that the Assad government still has influence in the area.

Mr Halki appeared controlled on state television and said Aleppo was facing "major difficulties in terms of supplies like fuel and basic necessities".

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Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University, Professor Amin Saikal, says it is not the first time a major figure has appeared in a warzone.

"I think it's basically symbolic and a political stand to show that the regime has control over Aleppo, but that's not really the case," he said.

"For example in war-torn Afghanistan, many foreign visitors have slipped in and slipped out ... without being seen by the opposition. I think the same thing probably happened in this respect.

"He would have really gone to the part which is very safe and obviously his visit would have been secret and not announced beforehand and it's a very, very short visit."

Professor Saikal says the Assad regime still has considerable firepower and is prepared to use it.

"The conflict is getting very bloody. [I doubt] the Assad regime is prepared to give up at this point," he said.

"[The regime] does have some supporters ... particularly [among minority groups like] the Alawites, the Christians and the Druze.

"As long as they maintain this base of support then the regime will be able to continue fighting.

"At the same time, diplomatically and economically, the regime is very much isolated. If the rebels succeed in taking over Damascus airport, which I think is going to be a big prize for them, then they will be able to ... [influence] the supply of goods to the regime and that will shorten the life of the regime."

He says it is difficult to predict what will happen if Mr Assad is ousted.

"That's the big question. It's very difficult at this point to be very precise [about] what must really happen once the Assad regime is gone, or Assad himself is deported," he said.

"The opposition has achieved a degree of unity in the last few weeks. On the other hand it is really made up of a number of fairly desperate groups.

"There is also a group of radical Islamists involved [that] the opposition, the United States and the European Union have been very doubtful of. "

More talks between Syria's opposition groups are scheduled for later this month in Cairo.