Syrian forces press on in Aleppo, as attacks kill civilians

“I can only imagine how hard the situation must be for people who fled into the places where aid workers and supplies are not or scarcely available”, said spokesperson Pawel Krzysiek.

The U.N. estimates that 275,000 residents are trapped in the area that has been under tight siege and heavy bombardment since July.

The Syrian civil defence group, known as the White Helmets, on Wednesday said a government artillery attack had killed at least 45 people, including many children, as they tried to escape fighting in Jub al-Quba, in the east of the city.

An airstrike blamed by activists on the government killed 25 civilians Tuesday.

In a statement posted on its website, the Turkish Armed Forces said Tuesday search efforts were underway after it had lost contact with two soldiers at 3:30 p.m. At one point, a warplane roamed overhead.

With territory they have defended for four years now being wrenched from their control, anti-government rebels in the Syrian city of Aleppo are desperately trying to hold out.

Humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien said thousands more were likely to flee if the fighting continued to spread and intensify in the coming days.

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday described the situation in Aleppo as “horrific” and called on Russian Federation to act. “There are no functioning hospitals left, and official food stocks are practically finished in eastern Aleppo”.

The Russian military says it has sent a team of sappers to clear the eastern part of Aleppo from mines.

Jean-Marc Ayrault issued the call in a statement Tuesday after Syrian government forces captured more than a third of opposition-held eastern Aleppo on Monday.

The pictures included images of men, women and young children wrapped-up in coats and gloves with bags and suitcases as they apparently attempted to flee the fighting. But Putin said Wednesday in a speech that he had spoken with Trump and that the they agreed their countries’ “unsatisfactory” relationship had to be “straightened out”.

A Syrian military source denied anyone had been arrested but said the identities of people leaving rebel-held areas were being checked and that anyone who was unknown was being put in “specific places” in areas where civilians were gathered.

He expected the death toll from the shelling to rise. “Now they have, so I call on Russian Federation to make sure the Syrian regime agrees”, Rycroft said.

Taking all of Aleppo – the last urban rebel stronghold in Syria – would mark a turning point in the war.

Zakaria Malahifji, head of the political office of the Aleppo-based Fastaqim rebel group, said rebels had fully repelled the Syrian army and allied militias from Sheikh Saeed.

He said the warring sides in the conflict had “systematically disregarded” the laws of war, willing to do anything to gain military advantage.

Heavily destroyed buildings in Aleppo’s Bustan al-Basha neighborhood on November 28.

France, another backer of opposition forces has called for an immediate UN Security Council meeting to discuss Aleppo. He called on Russia, Syria and Iran, which supports Assad’s regime, to “change their policy”.