Watch: Aleppo Residents Burn Tires to Obscure Assad and Russian Warplanes

Residents in the Syrian city of Aleppo, besieged by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and hemmed in by Russian air power, on Sunday created their own smokescreen to prevent regime and Russian strikes targeting civilians, according to activists.

The footage, released by the Halab News Network, shows children and civilians from the rebel side of the city rolling tires and setting them on fire to leave a wave of smoke across the city.

Rebels announced a new offensive to break the siege of eastern Aleppo on Sunday. Rebels and pro-government forces continue to clash despite a ceasefire brokered earlier this year. Aleppo is Syria's largest city and served as the epicenter of the revolution that sparked the conflict in March 2011.

Assad's forces have dropped barrel bombs on rebel neighborhoods, causing civilian casualties and destruction. Conflict in Aleppo for more than five years has seen it become a ghost of the city it once was.

The government cut off the final route out of the opposition side of the city in July, leaving hundreds of thousands trapped without the necessary food and medical supplies. The U.N. has warned that basic supplies could only last another three weeks.