Video footage provided by the Observatory showed smoke rising over apartment blocks in the city into a hazy sky on Saturday. The sound of sporadic gunfire could be clearly heard.
In the past week huge columns of Syrian army units have been moved into the north of the country, cutting off approaches to Aleppo and preparing for what looks like a massive assault.
Both sides are desperate to show that they momentum is with them. After the regime put down a major uprising in Damascus it must show that it is still capable of asserting its control, while the rebels believe that if they can hold Aleppo the rate of defections to their side will increase.
Syrian official media has been saying that rebels failed in Damascus and are now trying to turn Aleppo into a den of terrorism.
Activists said 160 people were killed on Friday across the country, many of them in and around Aleppo. The city is Syria's main commercial centre and had been quiet for much of the 16-month uprising against President Assad's rule.
Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, appeared with David Cameron at a press conference on Friday and warned of Turkish concern at the crisis just a few miles from his southern border. "There is a build-up in Aleppo, and the recent statements with respect to the use of weapons of mass destruction are actions that we cannot remain an observer or spectator to," he said.
Earlier, speaking to Turkish television, Mr Erdogan had cheered on the rebels. "In Aleppo itself the regime is preparing for an attack with its tanks and helicopters ... My hope is that they'll get the necessary answer from the real sons of Syria."
Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, also condemned the Syrian regime. "The kinds of weaponry that they're using against unarmed civilians I think demonstrates the depths of depravity to which Assad has sunk," he told reporters.
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