Russia and China Veto Resolution for Seven-Day Truce in Aleppo

Russia and China blocked a United Nations Security Council draft resolution calling for a seven-day humanitarian truce in Aleppo on Monday, the Associated Press reported.

The proposed truce, sponsored by New Zealand, Egypt and Spain, would have allowed the evacuation of the sick and wounded from besieged Aleppo and the delivery of food and medicine. The draft resolution received 11 votes in favor but Russia and China, both permanent members of the 15-seat U.N. Security Council, used their veto power to block the motion.

The vetoes are “a death sentence for innocent men, women and children,” said U.S. deputy ambassador Michele Sison. “They have vetoed the delivery of basic medicine to people who will die without it. They have vetoed the evacuation of sick and dying people who have no chance of surviving in the bombed-out hospitals and clinics of eastern Aleppo. They vetoed the delivery of food to civilians who could starve to death.”

This was China’s fifth and Russia’s sixth veto of resolutions drafted on the Syrian war respectively.

Syrian Army and Allied Forces Advance into Key Rebel District

Syrian government and allied forces advanced into eastern Aleppo on Tuesday and are on the verge of taking control of a key rebel district, Agence France-Presse reported.

Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have now entered the Shaar neighborhood, after regaining control of nearly two-thirds of eastern Aleppo in their most recent offensive. The loss of the large residential Shaar neighborhood to the government would reduce rebel forces to a “war of attrition,” according to the United Kingdom-based monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

“It is the most important neighbourhood in the heart of east Aleppo, and is on the brink of falling,” Rami Abdulrahman, head of SOHR, told AFP.

The city of Aleppo, once Syria’s commercial hub, has been divided between a rebel-held east and government-held west since 2012. If Shaar falls, the government will control 70 percent of eastern Aleppo, pushing rebels further into their enclave in the southeast of the city.

Russia and the U.S. Accuse Each Other of Stalling on Aleppo Talks

Russia and the U.S. have accused each other of stalling at talks in Geneva on possibly bringing about a rebel withdrawal from Aleppo and a subsequent ceasefire, AFP reported.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said a serious discussion with the U.S. does not seem to be working out.

“It looks like an attempt to buy time for the rebels to have a breather, take a pause and replenish their reserves,” Lavrov said.

The U.S. accused Russia of stalling, after a resolution for a seven-day cease-fire in Aleppo was blocked by Russia and China.

“There’s a moderate Syrian opposition that should not and does not deserve to be bombed into submission,” said U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner.

Meanwhile, rebel shelling of government-held Aleppo city killed two Russian nurses and eight civilians on Monday, the Associated Press reported.

“We regret that the world community, including our partners in the United States, are reacting very modestly to the tragedy that unfolded with the attack on the field hospital,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Reuters reported.

The intense government bombardment of eastern Aleppo and rebel shelling on western Aleppo has killed hundreds of civilians in recent days, according to SOHR, leaving more than 341 dead in the east and 81 in the west.

Recommended Reads:

• The Daily Beast: How ISIS Returned to Syria
• The Guardian: Where Is Bana? Fears for Syrian Girl Who Tweeted From Aleppo
• Al Jazeera: How Facebook Hurt the Syrian Revolution
• BBC: Syria Conflict: The Things Syrians Take With Them
• The Times: E.U. Offers Cash to Assad Regime for Syria Peace Deal