Russia Says It Will Not Strike Aleppo City Unless Rebels Do
Russia will not resume airstrikes on rebel-held eastern Aleppo unless rebels launch an offensive, a Kremlin spokesperson said on Monday, Reuters reported.
“The (Russian) president deems a regime when Russian air forces don’t carry out strikes on eastern Aleppo as reasonable if militants don’t start combat action,” Dmitry Peskov said.
Russia halted its aerial bombardment of eastern Aleppo city on October 18, following international condemnation and accusations of killing large numbers of civilians, which Moscow denies. Russia demanded rebel fighters leave eastern Aleppo by Friday evening, through special corridors for fighters with light weapons. There were reportedly other exit corridors for civilians.
However, the “humanitarian pause” ended without any evacuations according to Syrian officials, who accused rebels of blocking the exits. Nearly 275,000 people are besieged by government forces in eastern Aleppo, where the government and its Russian ally claim to be targeting terrorists. Rebels operating in the city include fighters from Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, the former al-Qaida affiliate in Syria that was known as Jabhat al-Nusra.
The rebels launched an offensive late October in an attempt to break the siege on their side of the city. At least 74 people have been killed in the rebel offensive so far according to the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Al Jazeera reported.
Russian and Syrian warplanes resumed their raids on rebel-held towns in Aleppo province, reportedly killing 20 people near the towns of Darat Izza, Atareb and Abeen.
The U.N. did not deliver any humanitarian aid during the Russian-announced “pause,” citing security concerns.
U.S., Turkey Agree to Work Together on Raqqa as Kurdish-Led Forces Advance
Turkey’s president said on Monday it is “naive” to use Syrian Kurdish fighters to take control of Raqqa, Al Jazeera reported.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – a U.S.-backed coalition of Kurdish and Arab forces – launched an offensive against the so-called Islamic State’s capital in Syria on Sunday. Clashing with the militants, the SDF took control of six villages north of Raqqa city, according to the Associated Press.
Turkey, however, views Syrian Kurdish forces as an extension of its own outlawed Kurdish militia, the PKK, that has been fighting for autonomy since the 1980s.
“Legitimacy cannot be provided with the participation of armed terror organizations. It requires the participation of legitimate states and their armed forces,” said Turkish deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmus on Monday.
Turkish military leaders met with their NATO counterparts in Ankara on Monday. General Joe Dunford, chair of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said after the meeting that the U.S. and Turkey will work together “on the long-term plan for seizing, holding and governing Raqqa … We always knew the SDF wasn’t the solution for holding and governing Raqqa.”
Government Shelling Hits Kindergarten, Kills Six Children
Syrian government shelling on a kindergarten in the rebel-held town of Harasta killed at least six children on Sunday, Agence France-Presse reported.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 17 other people, mostly children, were injured in the shelling.
Harasta is located in the Eastern Ghouta, a rebel-held region outside Damascus, besieged by government forces and regularly targeted with airstrikes and shelling.
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