Syria conflict: ‘Families leave’ besieged Aleppo

“The world must not allow Russian Federation to get away with disguising its assault on Aleppo with deceitful talk about humanitarian “corridors”, said Bassma Kodmani, a member of the High Negotiations Committee, Syria’s main opposition group. Please click the button below to manage your account. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.

The US has suggested the plan may be an attempt to force the evacuation of civilians and the surrender of rebel groups in the city.

Pro-government forces effectively surround opposition neighbourhoods of the divided city, sparking fears for at least 200,000 people trapped there. Forcing millions of civilians to live in inhumane conditions in Aleppo and other regions of Syria should be stopped immediately and the safety of people in those regions and access to humanitarian aid should also be provided under United Nations supervision, it added.

– Regime advance – ================== Once an economic hub, Aleppo and surrounding countryside has suffered some of the worst fighting in the five-year conflict that has killed more than 280,000 people.

Humanitarian groups have warned of a major catastrophe if the siege on the rebel-held parts of Aleppo continued.

“Some civilians may want to avail themselves of the possibility afforded by the corridor and by the Russian initiative”, he said. He said he had no indication that all involved groups had agreed to the plan.

The reported crossings were the first major movement of people from the besieged eastern districts of the city, after Russian Federation and the Syrian government announced on Thursday a joint plan to open up three corridors to give civilians, as well as rebels willing to surrender, a way out. The bombings came a week after air strikes, also blamed by Syrian activists on USA aircraft, killed at least 56 civilians in Islamic State-held territory in northern Syria.

A picture taken on July 29, 2016 shows a close up view of Karaj al-Hajz corridor (C), a passage in rebel-held Aleppo leading towards the Syrian government controlled area of Masharqa neighbourhood.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, other Aleppo residents called the proposed routes “corridors of death”. He said he would welcome the co-operation of worldwide aid organisations.

It had no exact figures for the number of people who had evacuated the rebel-held east. A lot of equipment, including incubators for newborns, was damaged.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said aircraft belonging to the coalition struck the village of al-Ghandour late Thursday.

“There has been a lot of pressure on the militants in Manbij”, said Bali.

State television also broadcast footage it said showed residents crossing from the east to the west.

Amnesty International said the aerial attack “appears to be part of a despicable pattern of unlawful attacks deliberately targeting medical facilities”, which can amount to a war crime.

“This is the only hospital specialising in maternity and children in the northern western side of rural Idlib”, a statement said.

On Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the initiative could sour cooperation with Russian Federation on Syria if it turned out to be a “ruse”.

While underscoring that the situation is so dire that all options must be considered, Mr. O’Brien stressed that it is critical that the security of any such corridors is guaranteed by all parties and that people are able to use them voluntarily.

The worldwide coalition had no immediate comment on the casualty figures. The town is encircled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.