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| Russia halts Aleppo strikes after overnight bombardment Russia halts Aleppo strikes after overnight bombardment | |
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| Russian and Syrian warplanes have halted their bombardment of the rebel-held districts of east Aleppo, Russia’s defence minister has said, in advance of an eight-hour “humanitarian pause” that Moscow has announced for Thursday. | Russian and Syrian warplanes have halted their bombardment of the rebel-held districts of east Aleppo, Russia’s defence minister has said, in advance of an eight-hour “humanitarian pause” that Moscow has announced for Thursday. |
| Airstrikes stopped at 10am local time (7am GMT), Sergei Shoigu said. | Airstrikes stopped at 10am local time (7am GMT), Sergei Shoigu said. |
| On Monday night, Lt Gen Sergei Rudskoi said militants, the wounded and sick would be allowed to evacuate to the neighbouring rebel-held province of Idlib during a pause in fighting between 8am and 4pm on Thursday. | On Monday night, Lt Gen Sergei Rudskoi said militants, the wounded and sick would be allowed to evacuate to the neighbouring rebel-held province of Idlib during a pause in fighting between 8am and 4pm on Thursday. |
| Russia says the pause is designed to separate moderate fighters from extremist militants, but Syrian rebels have rejected any withdrawal from the city. “The factions completely reject any exit – this is surrender,” said Zakaria Malahifji, the political officer of the Aleppo-based Fastaqim group. | Russia says the pause is designed to separate moderate fighters from extremist militants, but Syrian rebels have rejected any withdrawal from the city. “The factions completely reject any exit – this is surrender,” said Zakaria Malahifji, the political officer of the Aleppo-based Fastaqim group. |
| Al-Farouk Abu Bakr, an Aleppo commander in the powerful Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham, also said the rebels would fight on. “When we took up arms at the start of the revolution to defend our abandoned people we promised God that we would not lay them down until the downfall of this criminal regime,” he said. | Al-Farouk Abu Bakr, an Aleppo commander in the powerful Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham, also said the rebels would fight on. “When we took up arms at the start of the revolution to defend our abandoned people we promised God that we would not lay them down until the downfall of this criminal regime,” he said. |
| “There are no terrorists in Aleppo,” he said. Rebels in eastern Aleppo have consistently said that insurgent groups linked to al-Qaida or inspired by it have no real presence in the opposition-held part of the city. | “There are no terrorists in Aleppo,” he said. Rebels in eastern Aleppo have consistently said that insurgent groups linked to al-Qaida or inspired by it have no real presence in the opposition-held part of the city. |
| Overnight, Russian warplanes pounded rebel-held areas of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) monitoring group said. One of the pre-dawn strikes flattened an apartment block in the rebel-held Bustan al-Qasr district, Agence France-Presse reported. | Overnight, Russian warplanes pounded rebel-held areas of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) monitoring group said. One of the pre-dawn strikes flattened an apartment block in the rebel-held Bustan al-Qasr district, Agence France-Presse reported. |
| On Monday, dozens of civilians, including at least 11 members of the same family, were killed in airstrikes, according to the SOHR, a UK-based group that uses a network of contacts in Syria for information. | On Monday, dozens of civilians, including at least 11 members of the same family, were killed in airstrikes, according to the SOHR, a UK-based group that uses a network of contacts in Syria for information. |
| “Nine of the family members were minors, including a 17-year-old girl and her newborn,” said the SOHR’s Rami Abdel Rahman. | “Nine of the family members were minors, including a 17-year-old girl and her newborn,” said the SOHR’s Rami Abdel Rahman. |
| Unverified online video footage showed the bodies of eight children said to have been killed in the Marjeh neighbourhood, wrapped in white cloth and lined up before their burial. | Unverified online video footage showed the bodies of eight children said to have been killed in the Marjeh neighbourhood, wrapped in white cloth and lined up before their burial. |
| “There are still families under the ruins. We pulled out seven or eight bodies and dozens of wounded,” Abu Mohamed, an ambulance driver, was quoted as saying by AFP. “The hospitals are full of casualties. It’s a disaster.” | “There are still families under the ruins. We pulled out seven or eight bodies and dozens of wounded,” Abu Mohamed, an ambulance driver, was quoted as saying by AFP. “The hospitals are full of casualties. It’s a disaster.” |
| More than 430 people have been killed in the bombardment of eastern Aleppo since Syrian forces began a campaign to retake the area on 22 September, the SOHR said. Another 82 people are said to have died in rebel fire on government-held neighbourhoods in the west. | More than 430 people have been killed in the bombardment of eastern Aleppo since Syrian forces began a campaign to retake the area on 22 September, the SOHR said. Another 82 people are said to have died in rebel fire on government-held neighbourhoods in the west. |
| In their strongest criticism yet of the Kremlin for its involvement in the Syrian conflict, European foreign ministers on Monday excoriated the Assad regime “and its allies, notably Russia” for the “disproportionate” bombing of Aleppo. | In their strongest criticism yet of the Kremlin for its involvement in the Syrian conflict, European foreign ministers on Monday excoriated the Assad regime “and its allies, notably Russia” for the “disproportionate” bombing of Aleppo. |
| The UN said on Tuesday that it did not have the security guarantees to carry out humanitarian operations during the proposed Russian pause. | The UN said on Tuesday that it did not have the security guarantees to carry out humanitarian operations during the proposed Russian pause. |
| “When the weapons fall silent, we need all weapons to fall silent,” Jens Laerke, a UN humanitarian spokesman, said. “We need assurances from all parties to the conflict, not just a unilateral announcement that this will happen. We need everybody to give us those assurances before it is immediately useful for us to do anything meaningful.” | “When the weapons fall silent, we need all weapons to fall silent,” Jens Laerke, a UN humanitarian spokesman, said. “We need assurances from all parties to the conflict, not just a unilateral announcement that this will happen. We need everybody to give us those assurances before it is immediately useful for us to do anything meaningful.” |
| UN humanitarian officials have pleaded with combatants to observe weekly 48-hour ceasefires to allow aid into rebel-held parts of Aleppo, a former commercial and industrial hub that has been a battleground since rebels seized eastern districts in summer 2012. | UN humanitarian officials have pleaded with combatants to observe weekly 48-hour ceasefires to allow aid into rebel-held parts of Aleppo, a former commercial and industrial hub that has been a battleground since rebels seized eastern districts in summer 2012. |
| Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s UN ambassador, told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday that a 48-hour or 72-hour ceasefire “will require some sort of mutual arrangement”. | Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s UN ambassador, told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday that a 48-hour or 72-hour ceasefire “will require some sort of mutual arrangement”. |