Russia, US close to deal over Syria’s Aleppo as killing continues

The U.N. human rights office said it was deeply concerned about reports that hundreds of men have gone missing after crossing from eastern Aleppo into government-controlled areas of the city.

The army and its allies tried to advance on two fronts, a Turkish-based official with the Jabha Shamiya rebel group said.

Also last week, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that the United Nations halted its aid deliveries to Aleppo, after over 40 percent of the territory previously controlled by militants was recaptured by Syrian government forces.

If the city’s rebel-held sector falls, many see a domino effect across the country.

Although there are still many rural areas in rebel hands, Aleppo is their last big urban redoubt.

The proposal calls for the immediate evacuation of 500 seriously wounded Aleppo residents and for allowing civilians wishing to leave to head to northern rural Aleppo province, where there is nearly no government presence.

Russia, which backs the Syrian army with air strikes, wants Washington to urge rebel fighters to abandon their remaining territory, which appears to be on the verge of falling, and accept transport out.

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Paris yesterday ahead of parallel talks today aimed at pushing for a ceasefire in Aleppo.

The two met for about 45 minutes Wednesday evening in Hamburg, ahead of a two-day OSCE summit.

The U.N. assessment for diplomacy was bleak.

Russia’s top diplomat voiced hope that all sides could soon reach a truce agreement for Aleppo, as the United States and Russian Federation plan an expert-level meeting in Geneva Saturday.

“These patients and civilians had been trapped in the area for days because of heavy clashes nearby and as the front line kept drawing closer”, said the Red Cross’s head in Syria, Marianne Gasser, who is now in Aleppo.

“We are living the best period in more than four years”, said Mohammed Youssef, a 52-year-old waiter in western Aleppo.

An RT crew was among the first to speak to residents of Aleppo evacuated after spending months trapped in militant-held parts of the city.

Activists said dozens of rebels had already fled.

An AFP correspondent in the rebel-held enclave reported hearing the boom of artillery through the night.

“Russian servicemen have also demined about 6 hectares (almost 15 acres) of residential blocks in eastern Aleppo, the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation said”.

Mr Assad’s fortunes in the war have been greatly helped by military intervention from foreign Shia militias from Iran, Lebanon and Palestine, as well as Russian firepower from September 2015.

“If the high representative [Mogherini] means providing assistance to terrorists and extremists, then we dont participate in this, indeed, ” the statement added. “But it will be a huge step towards this end”.

“In order to provide humanitarian assistance, cooperation is necessary from the Government of Syria, the Russian Federation, various armed opposition groups, opposition health directorates, and others who must all agree on where, how, what conditions, guarantees, protection standards, and logistics”. Moscow and Damascus say only support for Assad will make it possible to defeat Islamic State.

Russia’s Tass news agency lists Russia’s combat losses so far in the Syria conflict as: 21 military personnel, three helicopters and an Su-24 bomber.

“Russia and the Syrian regime seek to make a desert and call it peace. The human tragedy is heart-breaking”, he added.

The rebels have controlled the eastern section since 2012, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview published on Thursday that retaking Aleppo would change the course of the civil war across the whole country.

The flurry of diplomacy comes as pressure builds on the Kremlin to use its leverage over its Syrian ally to push for an immediate cease-fire allowing for humanitarian access to eastern Aleppo and a return to a political process.

“Civilians are being used as pawns and prevented from leaving”, he said at a briefing in Geneva.