“When we took up arms at the start of the revolution to defend our abandoned people we promised God that we would not lay them down until the downfall of the criminal regime,” of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, sad Al-Farouk Abu Bakr, an Aleppo commander in the Ahrar al-Sham, Reuters reported.
“There are no terrorists in Aleppo,” he added. Moscow and Damascus have claimed that the majority of those fighting in rebel-held neighbourhoods of Aleppo have ties to al Qaeda.
Earlier this week, Russia announced that its military and that of the Syrian regime would halt fire in Aleppo for an eight-hour “humanitarian pause” and allow “for the free passage of civilians, evacuation of the sick and wounded, and withdrawal of fighters,” said Sergei Rudskoi, a senior Russian military officer, in a press briefing on Monday.
But the rebel groups said they would not accept the opportunity to withdraw, describing it as surrendering.
“The factions completely reject any exit – this is surrender,” said a political officer of the Fastaqim group in Aleppo, Zakaria Malahifji, Reuters reported.
The brief truce is to begin at 8am local time on Thursday. On Tuesday, Russia announced that their and the Syrian jets had stopped their bombing of Aleppo in advance of the ceasefire.
The European Council issued a statement on Monday that was “appalled by the deteriorating situation in Syria,” and described the bombardment of eastern rebel-held Aleppo as “clearly disproportionate.”
The deliberate targeting of civilians “may amount to war crimes,” the council said.
The UN has called for weekly 48-hour ceasefires to allow for delivery of humanitarian aid.
