(CNN) -- Leaders of Syrian rebel forces ordered their fighters to attack hundreds of government troops heading toward Aleppo, the country's largest city, a Free Syrian Army official told CNN on Wednesday.
The Syrian regime withdrew about 2,000 fully equipped troops, along with their tanks and artillery, from Idlib and sent them to Aleppo, the official said.
As the commercial hub of Syria, Aleppo is a crucial city in the country's 16-month conflict. If rebels eventually gain control of the city it would mark a pivotal point in the Syrian crisis and deal a heavy blow to President Bashar al-Assad's financial ties.
Read more: Is there a plan for a post-Assad Syria?
Across Syria, at least 50 people were killed in fresh violence Wednesday, opposition activists said. The dead included six people in Aleppo and six children, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria said.
Rebel forces have been trying to wrest control of Aleppo from government forces.
"There is random shelling of the eastern portion of the city as the Syrian Army is trying to force out the FSA (Free Syrian Army). They are hitting civilian homes over and over," one activist told CNN via Skype.
CNN's Ivan Watson, who is inside Syria, said he had noticed the rebels had become better armed in the past few months. While they only had shotguns at one point, they now have rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles, he said.
The increased firepower has helped the rebels successfully attack armored vehicles and force some Syrian forces to resupply by helicopter.
Watson said that in the village he was in, hundreds of rebels had loaded up with ammunition this week and headed to fight in Aleppo.
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