The Syrian
military said on Thursday a unilateral ceasefire backed by Russia had
come into force to allow people to leave besieged eastern Aleppo, a
move that the rebels have said is part of a psychological campaign to
get them to surrender.
State
media earlier said the army had opened exit corridors in two designated
areas in the Bustan al Qasr quarter and near the Castello road in
northern Aleppo city. Waiting buses were shown on state television.
Intensified
Russian and Syrian bombing of besieged rebel-held parts of Aleppo in
the past weeks has hit hospitals, bakeries and water pumping stations,
and killed hundreds of civilians.
The
United Nations has criticized unilateral ceasefires after long sieges,
saying they can be helpful only if combined with humanitarian access for
those who do not want to leave.
The
250,000 civilians trapped inside the besieged rebel held parts of the
city have so far stayed away from the corridors. The army blames rebels
opposed to President Bashar al-Assad for preventing them leaving and
says they use civilians as human shields.
Rebels say the goal of Moscow and Assad is to empty rebel-held areas of civilians so they can take over the whole city.
“They
talk about humanitarian corridors, but why are they not allowing food
into besieged eastern Aleppo to alleviate our suffering? We only need
the Russian bombers to stop killing our children. We don’t want to
leave,” said Ammar al Qaran, a resident in Sakhour district.
State
owned Ikhbariyah television said rebels had fired a barrage of mortars
near to where ambulances had been heading to take patients from the
besieged parts of the city for treatment in government-held areas.
MEDICAL TREATMENT
The Syrian military said on
Wednesday it would observe the temporary ceasefire to allow trapped
civilians to escape and said it had pulled back to enable rebel fighters
to leave the city via two designated corridors.
“We
guarantee a safe exit. Seize the opportunity and save your families,”
an army loudspeaker blared near an exit corridor, on live footage shown
on the pro-Syrian government Lebanese news channel Mayadeen.
“An
appeal to our people … we will extend every help from shelters to hot
dishes and facilities that offer you medical treatment,” said the army
loudspeaker.
To the rebels, the army broadcaster said: “Drop your weapons, this is your last chance.”
Since Russia intervened in the war a year
ago, the government’s side has gained the upper hand on numerous fronts,
including Aleppo, where the opposition-held sector has been completely
encircled for weeks.
The Syrian
army has pressed ahead with a major campaign, supported by
Iranian-backed militias and Russian air power, to take full control of
Syria’s largest city, divided between rebel and government zones since
2012.
The rebels, however, say
they are preparing a large-scale offensive to break the siege of Aleppo
and that the Russian air force has failed.
“The
coming battle is not going to be like others. We are waiting for the
signal of the start of a decisive battle which will surprise the regime
and its militias,” Abu Obeida al Ansari, a commander from Jabhat Fateh
al-Sham, the rebranded former al Qaeda affiliate Nusra Front, said in a
statement on social media.
