UN fears mass exodus from Syrian city of Aleppo

“There is no question, and I have said this before publicly, that Russia’s activities in Aleppo and in the region right now are making it much more hard to be able to come to the table and to be able to have a serious conversation”, Kerry said in Washington. But the West says Moscow is also hitting moderate rebel groups in Syria and has caused civilian casualties.

Such attacks are not uncommon in the Syrian capital, the seat of power of President Bashar Assad. Now, it’s a bastion of the opposition in the north, although there are no accurate statistics about how many still live there.

Aleppo the commercial and industrial heart in Syria, has been about broken up since 2012, together with the authorities commanding rebel factions and the western half holding the east.

Sergey Lavrov says in an interview with the daily Moskovsky Komsomolets published Tuesday that the plan is specific and simple, but does not provide details.

In the absence of a safe zone, the most likely scenario is that Turkey and the Gulf countries simply increase the supply of higher quality weapons to rebel fighters.

Syrian government forces backed by allied militias and Russian air raids began a major operation in the northern province of Aleppo last week.

“The city has been completely been in the dark since October”, Hussam added. The UN warned that 300,000 people in eastern Aleppo city could be cut off from humanitarian aid if government forces encircle the area.

A number of rebel units in Aleppo’s countryside have been forced to retreat in the face of heavy bombardment.

While he said Aleppo has “plenty of food” – albeit at inflated prices – the United Nations’ humanitarian office said Tuesday that the city could soon be cut off from humanitarian aid because of the escalation in fighting.

Throughout the war, rebel territory bordering Turkey has been the gateway for weapons, ammunition and other supplies for fighters in Aleppo.

The violence prompted thousands of civilians to flee, exacerbating the already vast humanitarian crisis.

“The list of issues to be discussed will be long: the protection, reception and integration of refugees; resettlement; border management; readmission; visa liberalization; the fight against smugglers and so on”, said French MEP Sylvie Guillaume, vice president of the European Parliament.

A Russian-backed offensive by the Syrian army on Aleppo is blamed for making an already desperate humanisation situation worse, with troops close to encircling the city.

The Norwegian Refugee Council said that aid groups are working around the clock to deliver help and first necessity items to the refugees, as reported by New York Times.

If true, the most likely option would be to try to set up a base for rebels in eastern Syria, which is now held by Islamic State.

Away from the city, advances made by regime forces in the last week has underlined the effectiveness of Russian air strikes more so than any other point since Moscow’s intervention on September 30 previous year.

The Aleppo offensive is piling on the pressure for a political solution ahead of a 17-nation contact group meeting Thursday in Munich aimed at getting peace talks back on track.

Peace talks between representatives of Assad and some opposition groups earlier this month failed mainly because of anger over Russia’s intensified bombings.

The “war of words” between Russia and Turkey recently again flared up, with Ankara accusing on January 30 another Russian aircraft of trespassing.