Dozens of civilians tried to flee terrorist-held east Aleppo overnight but were forced back by gunfire, as the Syrian army on Wednesday pressed an offensive to recapture the whole city.
The government last week resumed its drive to retake the east of the city, where more than 250,000 civilians have been trapped under siege by the army for months, with dwindling food and fuel supplies.
The national military has pounded the east with air strikes, barrel bombs and artillery fire for more than a week, killing more than 140 people as it advances.
Recapturing the east would give the army an important victory in the war, which has killed more than 300,000 people since it began in March 2011.
The government accuses armed groups in the east of using residents as “human shields” and preventing them from leaving.
On Wednesday, the UK-based opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said dozens of civilians had tried to flee overnight but were forced back by gunfire.
“On Tuesday night, around 100 families gathered near a passage from the (rebel-held) Bustan al-Basha district to cross to Sheikh Maqsud,” said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.
“But when the civilians tried to cross to the other side, gunfire broke out,” he added.
Over the weekend, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura floated a humanitarian plan for Aleppo as well as a proposal for a truce.
The truce deal would have allowed the opposition administration in east Aleppo to remain in place, at least temporarily, in return for terrorists leaving.
But the government rejected it, insisting the state had to retake control as any alternative would “reward terrorists.”
Source: AFP
