Shoigu said there would be three corridors for civilian use and another for fighters seeking amnesty.
Advertisement
Aleppo governor Mohammad Marwan Olabi has said regime will offer civilians who leave the city temporary accommodation.
Forces loyal to the Syrian government seized the last road into rebel-held areas of Aleppo 11 days ago, effectively rendering them completely isolated, as The Two-Way has reported.
Syrian authorities announced on Thursday the opening of three safe exits for civilians to leave rebel-held areas in the north of Aleppo, according to state news agency SANA.
United Nations humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien said on Monday that “food supplies are expected to run out in mid-August and many medical facilities continue to be attacked”.
Amnesty said in a press release that, “Providing safe routes for those civilians who wish to flee Aleppo city will not avert a humanitarian catastrophe”.
He said the move was “first and foremost to ensure the safety of Aleppo residents”.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Thursday that the Russian and Syrian militaries would start “a large-scale humanitarian operation” in Aleppo to help residents “who had become hostages of terrorists”.
Staffan de Mistura says the city is “de facto” besieged after Russian-backed Syrian government forces and their allied troops closed in on Aleppo’s main rebel enclave.
Aleppo, in the northwest of the country, has been a major battleground in the grinding civil war, with rebel groups holding neighborhoods in the east of the city for years. They spread explosives over large areas and are indiscriminate in nature, often continuing to maim and kill long after the initial attack when previously unexploded bomblets detonate.
“The city is de-facto besieged, because it is nearly completely militarily encircled”, said de Mistura, adding there were only two to three weeks of supplies left.
Assad’s amnesty offer, which came in a presidential decree, included armed opposition fighters who surrender within three months and also urged all detainees to be freed.
The new development comes as government forces, supported by the Lebanese Hezbollah and Russian air cover, made sweeping progress against the rebels. The latest offer – like those before it – is largely seen by opposition fighters as a publicity stunt and psychological warfare against the rebels.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier this week said that recent U.S. -Russia discussions should encourage moderate Syrian opposition groups to leave areas occupied by al-Qaida’s branch in Syria, thus helping to implement a truce there. “The most important thing is the victory of the Syrian people because it is a war waged against the Syrian people”.
Advertisement
De Mistura said this week he hopes peace talks aimed at ending more than five years of brutal conflict could resume at the end of August.
