"Much of the Syrian army is Sunni and they see Hizbollah as too sectarian. Some from the Syrian army won't work with Hizbollah. They don't want the militia involved." The regime still has the upper hand in Aleppo, where in June it all but completed an encirclement of non-Isil rebels. But even there, it has failed to press the advantage and the rebels still control a crucial access road into the areas they hold, despite being simultaneously under attack from Isil forces to the east.