Aleppo: Ceasefire between Russian and Syrian forces ends; civilians, rebels ignore opportunity to leave

Updated

A 10-hour ceasefire by Russian and Syrian government forces in Aleppo has come to an end, but neither the Syrian rebels nor civilians have shown signs of leaving the opposition-held city. Key points: Syrian Government, Russian allies to resume air strikes after 10-hour repreive

Rebels and residents ignore opportunity to leave besieged east

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says no sign of resumed bombing yet

The Government sent ambulances and buses to take people out of the besieged zone as it has done at other times during the pause, but there was still no sign that anybody would leave. Just hours before the end of the ceasefire loomed, residents contacted by Reuters seemed resigned to the resumption in bombing, which killed hundreds of people in late September and early October. Nobody can stop the planes," said Bebars Mishal, an official with the White Helmets civil defence volunteer group in eastern Aleppo, which digs victims out of the rubble and runs an ambulance service. He said there was no way for rescue workers or medical staff to prepare in advance of the expected resumption of attacks. "All we can do is take precautions and be ready 24 hours a day," Mr Mishal said. Earlier, the Government and its Russian allies had abandoned the ceasefire to launch their assault on the biggest urban area in opposition hands. The rebels' own shelling of residential parts of Government-held western Aleppo killed dozens in the past week as insurgent groups staged a counter-attack from outside the city aimed at breaking the siege on areas they control. Moscow and Damascus said their pause in bombing the city was due to end at 7:00pm local time (3:00am Saturday AEST), accusing rebels of having used the pause to reinforce and launch attacks on government-held areas. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said that there was no sign yet of resumed aerial bombardment of central parts of the city. The Government and its Russian allies say they target only militants, and that fighters are to blame for civilian casualties by operating in civilian areas. Western countries say the bombing has deliberately targeted hospitals, aid workers and bakeries and Washington has accused Moscow of "war crimes". Rebels say the aim is to drive out civilians, some 275,000 of whom remain in the besieged zone. "They call it a ceasefire. The regime hasn't let us hear the end of it," said Modar Shekho, a nurse in rebel-held eastern Aleppo. "As usual, when it ends they will let the bombardment loose. We've gotten used to this." Aleppo has become the focal point of fighting in Syria's war, now in its sixth year, pitting President Bashar al-Assad and his allies against Sunni rebel groups including some supported by Turkey, Gulf Arab monarchies and the United States. Reuters

Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, terrorism, world-politics, syrian-arab-republic

First posted
A short ceasefire ends as residents of Aleppo prepare for a resumption of bombing.