Russia Declares 48-Hour Truce In Syria’s Aleppo
MEP: Russia has declared a 48-hour truce in Aleppo city of northwestern Syria aimed at leaving the city to silence for a period of time.
A statement released by Russia’s Defense Ministry late on Wednesday states “a ‘regime of silence’ has been introduced in Aleppo for 48 hours from 00:01 on June 16 (2100 GMT Wednesday) with the goal of lowering the level of armed violence and stabilizing the situation on Russia’s initiative.”
The development came after accusations on al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front terrorists of launching rocket attacks in various parts of the city, including a tank attack in its southwestern parts.
According to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, heavy fighting flared up to the south of the city on Tuesday, killing a total of 70 people on all sides of the conflict.
The announcement also came after US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Russia and Syria over the continued clashes with the terrorists in the city.
Speaking in Oslo, where he met Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for talks on Syria and the Iran nuclear deal, Kerry said Assad’s forces had not abided by the truce for a single day in Aleppo.
“Unless we get a better definition of how this cessation is going to work … we are not going to sit there while Assad continues to offensively assault Aleppo and while Russia continues to support in that effort,” Kerry told a news conference.
Aleppo has been divided between government forces in the west and militants in the east since 2012, a year after the conflict broke out in Syria.
