Russia and the Syrian government started a large-scale humanitarian operation to provide assistance to the population of Aleppo, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Thursday.
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“We direct the leadership of Al Nusra Front to go ahead with what preserves the good of Islam and the Muslims, and protects the jihad of the Syrian people”, Ahmed Hassan Abu al-Khayr said in an audio message released online by Al Nusra.
Bani Zaid was once a staging ground for rebel attacks on government-held Aleppo, Xinhua news agency reported.
That move, US officials speaking on condition of anonymity said on Thursday, appeared to be an effort to pre-empt a USA demand that Russian Federation and Syria reopen a major road into the divided northern city before talks could begin on creating a joint intelligence center to coordinate air attacks against Islamic State.
Vladimir Putin has promised rebel fighters a safe “way-out” if they surrender after the Russian-backed Syrian army surrounded the war-torn city of Aleppo.
Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic said in a statement that President Bashar al-Assad calls on the Syrian people to stand with the Syrian Arab Army which is determined to root out terrorism, especially after it has become clear to everyone that this terrorism is targeting Syria’s homeland, people, culture and identity.
Residents of eastern Aleppo and aid workers told Human Rights Watch by phone that as the Syrian government siege has tightened since July 11, food prices have soared and supplies have decreased to alarming levels.
Syria’s president has also offered an amnesty for rebels laying down arms and surrendering within three months. It is not the first time Assad has offered an amnesty, largely viewed as a form of propaganda and psychological warfare. He said he hopes the Russian role and intense global attention to the humanitarian corridors proposition means the government would abstain from flagrant violations.
Rights group Amnesty International disputed that the corridors would prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Aleppo, saying many civilians would likely be wary of the government’s assurances and might not leave out of fear for their safety.
It comes as Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault and called or the Syrian regime and its allies to end their “disastrous” siege on the city. They are fearful of government troops killing them if they seek to flee, or of starving if they stay.
The UN’s Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Stephen O’Brien, also said he was not yet convinced that the move would be in the best interests of those in need.
Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft is backing a U.N. call for 48-hour weekly humanitarian truces to allow desperately needed aid into embattled Aleppo but says “the Russian idea of corridors is an interesting alternative proposal”. “All options must be considered”.
Food is quickly running out for the 300,000 people trapped in Aleppo.
“No one can be forced to flee, by any specific route or to any particular location”, said O’Brien. “Protection must be guaranteed for all according to the principles of neutrality and impartiality”, he stated.
Abu Ans, the administration manager of a besieged hospital, told CNN Thursday that the situation was “very bad”.
“Medical supplies are low and they are getting even lower, especially with the fierce bombing campaign by the regime”, he said.
“We are all awaiting and urging the two co-chairs – which means Russian Federation and the USA – to expedite their own discussions on how to reduce violence”, de Mistura said.
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.
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“Another 77 settlements signed an agreement on ceasefire over the last three days”.
