Syria’s military yesterday announced a surprise reduction in bombardment of rebel groups in devastated Aleppo, nearly two weeks after declaring an all-out assault to capture the city.
Aleppo city was once Syria’s thriving commercial hub, but it now lies divided between rebels in the east and regime forces in the west. Syria’s government announced a large-scale offensive to capture the whole city on September 22, ushering in a ferocious bombing campaign on opposition-held quarters.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 270 people, including 53 children, had been killed in air raids on the eastern districts since the assault began.
Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have been waging their offensive in the city centre, the northern outskirts, and the southern edges of Aleppo with the backing of Russian air power.
But the onslaught has come under fierce international scrutiny amid accusations the joint air strikes were destroying the east’s civilian infrastructure.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault will travel to Moscow today and Washington tomorrow to try to garner support for the draft, his office said.
The resolution is aimed at “paving the way to a ceasefire in Aleppo and for the local population to gain access to the humanitarian aid it so needs,” the foreign ministry said.
It calls for aid deliveries to the city’s east and the grounding of all Syrian and Russian planes in that area.
The city’s eastern half was officially declared a “besieged area” by the United Nations yesterday, after months of fierce fighting and lack of access for aid workers.