World
Russia, Syrian government’s key ally, said on Thursday that it would open routes to allow civilians and unarmed rebels to leave the war-hit city of Aleppo. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the “large-scale humanitarian operation” will involve opening of four exit corridors, three of them for civilians and the fourth for rebels who give up their weapons.
The announcement came hours after the Syrian army cut off all supply routes to Aleppo, which has been held by rebel forces for the past four years, writes the BBC. U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien warned on Monday that about 300,000 people in the besieged city would run out of basic supplies by mid-August.
On Tuesday, the Syrian army sent text messages to civilians and rebels, urging them to join the national reconciliations, notes Al Jazeera. Violence has intensified across Aleppo in the past few days despite renewed international push to restart peace talks on the Syrian conflict.
Recently, U.N. special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said he hoped the stalled peace talks in Syria would resume in August after the U.S. and Russia agreed to work more closely and share intelligence for coordinating air strikes in the country.
