This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/13/red-cross-urgent-plea-to-save-civilians-aleppo-syria

The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 6 Version 7
Reports of Aleppo civilians shot on the spot by pro-regime forces – UN UN told of children trapped in building under attack in Aleppo
(35 minutes later)
There are reports that pro-Syrian regime forces have been entering homes in the last remaining rebel strongholds in eastern Aleppo and killing civilians on the spot, the UN has said. Children are reportedly trapped inside a building under attack in besieged Aleppo, the UN children’s fund has said, amid reports that forces loyal to the regime of Bashar al-Assad are carrying out extrajudicial killings in areas of the city recently reclaimed from the Syrian opposition.
The UN’s human rights office said it had received reports that 82 civilians had been killed across four different neighbourhoods. “The reports we had are of people being shot in the street trying to flee and shot in their homes,” Rupert Colville, a UN spokesman, said. “There could be many more.” “According to alarming reports from a doctor in the city, many children, possibly more than 100, unaccompanied or separated from their families, are trapped in a building, under heavy attack in east Aleppo,” Unicef said in a statement. “We urge all parties to the conflict to allow the safe and immediate evacuation of all children.”
Unverified reports of extrajudicial killings by forces loyal to the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, as well as mass detentions and arrests, have surfaced in recent days. In one image circulated by a pro-government parliamentarian, dozens of Syrian men and boys from east Aleppo stand in a detention camp in front of Syrian army soldiers. The UN’s human rights office said earlier there were reliable reports that pro-Syrian regime forces have been entering homes in the last remaining rebel strongholds in eastern Aleppo and killing civilians on the spot.
The Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday said it was “horrified and outraged” by what it said was the massacre of civilians. It said it had received reports from multiple sources that 82 civilians had been killed across four different neighbourhoods. “The reports we had are of people being shot in the street trying to flee and shot in their homes,” Rupert Colville, a UN spokesman, said. “There could be many more.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were corpses abandoned in the streets with residents too terrified by the shelling to bury them. “Real massacres” were taking place in the city, the war monitor said. Unverified reports of extrajudicial killings by forces loyal to Assad, as well as mass detentions and arrests, have surfaced in recent days. In one image circulated by a pro-government parliamentarian, dozens of Syrian men and boys from east Aleppo stand in a detention camp in front of Syrian army soldiers.
Jens Laerke, another UN spokesman, said it looked like there had been a “complete meltdown of humanity” in the city. The Turkish foreign ministry said it was horrified and outraged by what it described as a massacre of civilians, in serious breach of international law.
“We’re seeing the most cruel form of savagery in Aleppo, and the regime and its supporters are responsible for this,” foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said, adding that his country was was negotiating with Russia to implement a ceasefire. “The wounded are not being let out and people are dying of starvation,” he told a news conference in Ankara.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were corpses abandoned in the streets with residents too terrified by the shelling to bury them. “Real massacres” were taking place in the city, the war monitor said. Jens Laerke, a UN spokesman, said it looked like there had been a “complete meltdown of humanity” in the city.
The Red Cross has urgently appealed for civilians in east Aleppo to be protected “before it is too late”, adding that it was ready to help with evacuations if an agreement can be reached as Assad’s forces close in on remaining opposition enclaves.The Red Cross has urgently appealed for civilians in east Aleppo to be protected “before it is too late”, adding that it was ready to help with evacuations if an agreement can be reached as Assad’s forces close in on remaining opposition enclaves.
“We need to act now,” said Pawel Krzysiek, the head of communications at the international committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), who is in Aleppo. “We need to depoliticise the process of protecting civilians. We need to put their lives first. And we need to do it now before it is not too late. “We need to act now,” said Pawel Krzysiek, the head of communications at the international committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), who is in Aleppo. “We need to depoliticise the process of protecting civilians. We need to put their lives first. And we need to do it now before it is not too late.”
“We are ready to implement any provision of any agreement between the parties for the sake of civilians. This is our role as neutral intermediary and we are on standby. But we are also running out of time here and we need to act before it is too late so we can save the lives of civilians that still can be saved.”
Tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped in a shrinking patch of opposition territory in east Aleppo, weeks into an offensive led by Assad’s military and Iranian-backed militias, and supported by Russian airpower, that has brought the Syrian strongman within reach of a key victory in the war.Tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped in a shrinking patch of opposition territory in east Aleppo, weeks into an offensive led by Assad’s military and Iranian-backed militias, and supported by Russian airpower, that has brought the Syrian strongman within reach of a key victory in the war.
People in east Aleppo, who have issued distress calls and appeals to the international community to rescue them from retribution, continued to post farewell messages overnight and into Tuesday morning, predicting they would either die by the ongoing bombardment or be tortured and killed if they surrendered.People in east Aleppo, who have issued distress calls and appeals to the international community to rescue them from retribution, continued to post farewell messages overnight and into Tuesday morning, predicting they would either die by the ongoing bombardment or be tortured and killed if they surrendered.
“Please just tell our stories to the world, please let my son be proud of his father,” said one resident of east Aleppo in a text message.“Please just tell our stories to the world, please let my son be proud of his father,” said one resident of east Aleppo in a text message.
A doctor described the situation as “beyond a tragedy”, with corpses in the street and people attempting to flee to government-held areas as a result of hunger and cold.A doctor described the situation as “beyond a tragedy”, with corpses in the street and people attempting to flee to government-held areas as a result of hunger and cold.
“We are besieged from all sides and death is coming from the air,” he said. “Remember that there was once a city called Aleppo that the world erased from the camp and from history. This is a farewell message [from a doctor] whose fate along with that of his companions is death or arrest at any moment.”“We are besieged from all sides and death is coming from the air,” he said. “Remember that there was once a city called Aleppo that the world erased from the camp and from history. This is a farewell message [from a doctor] whose fate along with that of his companions is death or arrest at any moment.”
One resident said the airstrikes had subsided by Tuesday morning due to lower visibility and rain, offering a brief respite to civilians who were still on the move and seeking shelter in the rebel districts. Some of those attempting to find shelter away from the frontlines were carrying blood and IV drips as they marched through rebel-held districts, another resident said.One resident said the airstrikes had subsided by Tuesday morning due to lower visibility and rain, offering a brief respite to civilians who were still on the move and seeking shelter in the rebel districts. Some of those attempting to find shelter away from the frontlines were carrying blood and IV drips as they marched through rebel-held districts, another resident said.
On Monday evening the UN chief, Ban Ki-moon, expressed “grave concern” over reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children.
In a statement, Ban stressed the obligation of all parties “to protect civilians and abide by international humanitarian and human rights law. This is particularly the responsibility of the Syrian government and its allies”.
The UN humanitarian adviser on Syria, Jan Egeland, said the Syrian and Russian governments must be held responsible for any atrocities committed by militias loyal to Assad.
The Syrian army and its allies are in the “last moments before declaring victory” in Aleppo, a Syrian military source told Reuters, after rebel defences collapsed on Monday, leaving insurgents in a tiny, heavily bombarded pocket of ground.The Syrian army and its allies are in the “last moments before declaring victory” in Aleppo, a Syrian military source told Reuters, after rebel defences collapsed on Monday, leaving insurgents in a tiny, heavily bombarded pocket of ground.
The bombardment of rebel areas of the city continued nonstop on Monday during the day in what residents called a “Doomsday” scenario.The bombardment of rebel areas of the city continued nonstop on Monday during the day in what residents called a “Doomsday” scenario.
“The battle in eastern Aleppo should end quickly. They [rebels] don’t have much time. They either have to surrender or die,” Lieut Gen Zaid al-Saleh, the head of the government’s Aleppo security committee, told reporters in the recaptured Sheikh Saeed district of the city.“The battle in eastern Aleppo should end quickly. They [rebels] don’t have much time. They either have to surrender or die,” Lieut Gen Zaid al-Saleh, the head of the government’s Aleppo security committee, told reporters in the recaptured Sheikh Saeed district of the city.
The ICRC said: “Thousands of civilians’ lives are in danger as frontlines close in around them in eastern Aleppo. As the battle reaches new peaks and the area is plunged into chaos, thousands with no part in the violence have literally nowhere safe to run.The ICRC said: “Thousands of civilians’ lives are in danger as frontlines close in around them in eastern Aleppo. As the battle reaches new peaks and the area is plunged into chaos, thousands with no part in the violence have literally nowhere safe to run.
“A deepening humanitarian catastrophe and further loss of life can be averted only if the basic rules of warfare – and of humanity – are applied.”“A deepening humanitarian catastrophe and further loss of life can be averted only if the basic rules of warfare – and of humanity – are applied.”