Civilians and rebels stay put in eastern Aleppo despite Russian ‘truce’

Russia's second offer of 'humanitarian pause' for rebels and civilians to leave city's eastern districts finds no takers despite threat of intensified regime offensive.

Syrian pro-government soldiers walk down a road in the ‘3000’ apartment block area in Al Hamdaniyah district of Aleppo on November 4, 2016. George Ourfalian / AFP

BEIRUT// The latest “humanitarian pause” aimed at allowing rebels and civilians to escape besieged eastern Aleppo on Friday appeared to be a failure, with no signs of civilians or fighters leaving the rebel-held districts and Russia and Syria accusing the rebels of attacking evacuation routes.

Russia, which claims it has halted air attacks on Aleppo since October 18, announced the 10-hour pause earlier this week, saying Moscow and Damascus would guarantee safe passage to government areas and rebel-held territory outside the city for those who wanted to leave.

The United Nations estimates 275,000 civilians are trapped in eastern Aleppo, which has been under total siege for nearly two months now. They are joined by about 8,000 rebel fighters.

Friday’s humanitarian pause seemed to be nearly identical to a three-day truce two weeks ago. Government soldiers and buses idled at crossing points, waiting for civilians who never came.

The United Nations said it was again unable to deliver aid to eastern Aleppo during the short pause because of a lack of security guarantees. And Russia and the Syrian government again blamed rebels for preventing civilians from leaving and attacking exit corridors.

But there are fears that Friday’s truce could be the final respite before a heavier Russian and Syrian attack on rebel-held districts.

In announcing the humanitarian pause, Russian chief of general staff Valery Gerasimov said that it was meant “to avoid senseless victims”. Both Russia and the Syrian government told the rebels they should quit the city by Friday evening, while Russia said the fight for Aleppo was unwinnable for the rebels.

On Thursday, a Russian legislator told the Moscow-based news agency Interfax that Syrian government forces would “purge” eastern Aleppo if the rebels did not leave on Friday.

As the pause went into effect at 9am, a fleet of Russian warships – including the country’s only aircraft carrier – headed for the Syrian coast, sparking conjecture that a larger attack on Aleppo was imminent.

Despite the seeming threat, the rebels once again rejected the offer and few, if any, civilians passed through the government’s humanitarian corridors on Friday.

A contributor to The National based in eastern Aleppo said that civilians did not appear to be gathering at crossing points and instead were taking advantage of the relative calm to walk the streets and shop safely for whatever little was left in Aleppo's shops.

In the pause two weeks ago, many civilians had gathered at the crossing points, but nearly all turned back as fighting erupted and Free Syrian Army units blocked off access to escape routes, saying it was too dangerous to cross.

After that failure, there was little optimism among eastern Aleppo’s residents about Friday’s pause.

Fighters and civilians in eastern Aleppo may EVIDENCE? also have been hoping that a week-old rebel attempt to break through government lines on the western side of the city could end the siege on their terms, providing a route to escape and to bring in food and other vital supplies.

Like the successful siege-breaking offensive in August, the latest push has involved Jabhat Fatah Al Sham – formerly Al Qaeda’s Syrian branch – in a significant role with its suicide car bomb tactics. Progress has slowed in recent days after early gains.

Russia and the Syrian regime accused rebels of attacking the humanitarian corridors on Friday, with two Russian soldiers stationed on the Castello Road, formerly the main supply route into rebel-held eastern Aleppo, injured by shelling. The Russian defence ministry suspended live video feeds from the Castello Road and other crossing points after the attack.

A diplomatic solution to Aleppo appears as distant as ever, with Russia saying earlier this week that negotiations were suspended indefinitely and representatives of the Syrian government again vowing in recent days to retake the entire city.

* With additional reporting by Zouhir Al Shimale in Aleppo, Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.​