The Syrian regime, backed by Russia, has been carrying out an intense bombardment of rebel-held eastern Aleppo since declaring the end of a brief week-long ceasefire on September 19.
The United Nations’ envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, on Thursday pleaded with fighters of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as the Nusra Front, to leave the city. Moscow and Damascus have carried out their bombardment on Aleppo under the claim of targeting the al-Qaeda-linked militant group.
At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on September 25, de Mistura estimated that more than half of the fighters in rebel-held eastern Aleppo are from the Nusra Front. Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, put the number at 2,000 out of the estimated 3,500 fighters in eastern Aleppo.
On Thursday, de Mistura appealed to the Nusra Front, asking them to leave the city. “If you decide to leave with dignity,” he said, addressing the fighters while speaking to reporters in Geneva, “I am personally ready to physically accompany you.”
The Syrian army said it has reduced shelling of eastern Aleppo in order to allow people to leave, but said on Wednesday, “All those who do not take advantage of the provided opportunity to lay down their arms or to leave will face their inevitable fate.”
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said they had “no other option” but to fight the rebel forces until they left the city, in an interview with Danish television.
De Mistura estimated that eastern Aleppo, where some 275,000 people are living, was just months away from being completely destroyed.
One resident of eastern Aleppo, 7-year old Bana Alabed who with her mother is tweeting about her life under daily bombardments shared on the social media platform on Thursday, “We are very afraid right now for our lives, we are in danger. We don’t know how long we will survive.”
We are very afraid right now for our lives, we are in danger. We don't know how long we will survive. - Fatemah #Aleppo
— Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) October 6, 2016
