The statement said the rebels were from US-backed groups who were travelling to fight Islamic State in northern Aleppo province. Lavrov, speaking at a news conference in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said he realized that brief daily ceasefires in place now to allow aid to enter and civilians to leave were not sufficient. Rebels captured the eastern part of the city in 2012 and have been locked in a brutal stalemate with government forces since then.
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Fighting for control of the divided city of two million people has intensified in recent weeks and there have been gains for rebel groups battling Syrian government forces.
However, opposition activists and militant websites reported Monday that the rebels and militants retreated from all positions they seized near the cement factory following a massive government counterattack.
Residents inspect their damaged homes after an airstrike on the rebel-held Old Aleppo, Syria August 15, 2016.
DAESH said on Monday they were responsible for a suicide bombing on a bus on Sunday which killed fighters from western-backed Syrian opposition groups near the Atmeh border crossing with Turkey.
A Syrian military official said the Syrian air force launched “precise airstrikes on groupings and movements of terrorist groups south and west of Aleppo” that resulted in the death of dozens of “terrorists”.
Russia’s defense minister said Moscow and Washington are getting closer to an agreement that would help defuse the humanitarian crisis in the besieged Syrian city Aleppo. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian Federation appear to mounting a humanitarian operation in Aleppo by opening safe corridors for the 300,000 civilians and rebels they have laid siege to.
Russian Federation is backing the embattled government of Bashar al-Assad while the U.S. has called repeatedly for him to step down from power.
Aid agencies have urged all parties to stop the destruction and indiscriminate attacks in the conflict-ridden Syrian city of Aleppo, calling it “one of the most devastating urban conflicts in modern times”.
But in Washington, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau refused to confirm any collaboration. The US is certainly pushing for a broader cessation of hostilities agreement with Russian Federation. Children have been traumatised. “The scale of the suffering is enormous”, Maurer said.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russian Federation said he was aware that the three-hour pauses in Aleppo fighting could not address what outside aid groups have described as a desperate need for basic relief supplies.
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United Nations officials and outside aid groups have warned of an unprecedented humanitarian calamity in Aleppo if the siege is not ended, calling for at least 48-hour weekly humanitarian pauses so food and water can be delivered.
