UN cites reports of civilians killings in Aleppo

Recapturing the entire rebel pocket of Aleppo will constitute the biggest battlefield victory yet for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his military coalition of Russia’s air force, Iran and Shi’ite militias.

The U.N. special adviser for Syria says the past 24 hours have been the most dramatic so far in “the bloody, bitter, horrific battle of Aleppo”, and warned that those responsible would be held accountable for the bloodshed.

An emergency debate on the humanitarian crisis was being held in the Commons.

Russia’s U.N. ambassador Vitaly Churkin took to the floor near the end of the session at the U.N. Security Council to announce fighting had ended.

A rebel Turkmen Sultan Murad brigade official stated they had too little to gain from the discussions hence their wariness in accepting anything.

The fall of Aleppo would be the rebel’s worst defeat of the civil war and put the government in control of all five of Syria’s main cities.

Smoke rises near Bustan al-Qasr crossing point in a government controlled area, during clashes with rebels in Aleppo, Syria, December 5, 2016.

It said opposition shelling of government-held west Aleppo had killed 130 civilians including 40 children.

“Today, tomorrow, every day, we will intensify our talks with Russian Federation and other countries so we can find a solution to this humanitarian tragedy”, Cavusoglu said at a press conference with his Czech counterpart in Ankara.

On Monday evening the United Nations chief, Ban Ki-moon, expressed “grave concern” over reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children.

Mr Ban stressed that civilians must be protected and aimed his remarks particularly at the Syrian government and its allies.

For much of the past four years, the city has been divided roughly in two, with the government controlling the western half and rebels the east.

“The capture by pro-government forces of the remaining parts of the city of Aleppo is imminent”.

None of the residents witnessed the alleged killings, and the reports came amid deepening chaos in the remaining rebel-held areas.

Videos reportedly taken inside the city show scenes of horrific destruction and human misery caused by intense bombing, as nearly all medical and aid services have broken down. Opposition fighters were “doing their best to defend what is left”, he said.

Activists said anyone with links to the rebels who seized control of the enclave in 2012 was being hunted down.

“The reports we had are of people being shot in the street trying to flee and shot in their homes”, Rupert Colville, spokesman for the United Nations human rights office said.

The Observatory said that four weeks into the army offensive in Aleppo, at least 415 civilians, including 47 children, had been killed in rebel-held parts of the city.

/ Humanitarian volunteers in Aleppo issued a desperate plea for help amid multiple reports of what are thought to be executions of people with ties to rebel groups.

Based in Gaziantep, the southern Turkish city, the official said, “They keep coming back with the same unacceptable demands and present it as an offer”.

Russian Federation says more than 100,000 civilians have been displaced by the fighting and that 2,200 rebel fighters have surrendered.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.