UN welcomes humanitarian pause in war-torn Aleppo

The UN Special Envoy for Syria welcomed Thursday a Russia-backed unilateral ceasefire which took effect in the Syrian city of Aleppo this morning, adding however this is not the beginning of his plan "to produce a permanent cessation of hostilities in Aleppo."

"We welcome the 11-hour unilateral pause, we consider it a good decision and it is part of a request by the UN weeks ago following the bombing of hospitals and the fact that more than two hundred people were estimated to be seriously wounded and needed to be evacuated," Staffan de Mistura told press here after a weekly humanitarian taskforce meeting.

"We consider this is a medical evacuation and medical support," he added.

Pending approval from Russia and safety assurances from all warring factions, the UN hopes to gain access starting Friday for 11 hours per day for four consecutive days to evacuate the injured and sick while providing aid items to the 275,000 civilians trapped in rebel-held east Aleppo.

The special envoy's senior advisor Jan Egeland said that relief operations are unable to start Thursday and that the UN was awaiting Moscow's answer as to whether the four-day plan could start Friday.

Once Syria's economic hub, Aleppo has been the scene of fierce fighting between government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and opposition forces seeking to oust him.

According to de Mistura, between 6,000 and 7,000 opposition fighters, including some 900 al-Nusra combatants, are present in eastern Aleppo.

The envoy has insisted that al-Nusra troops should separate from opposition forces and leave the city which has been divided in two since 2012.

This is part of a broader package which calls for all sides to stop bombing and fighting, allow humanitarian access to reach those in need, and which urges Damascus to issue public assurances guaranteeing that the local administration in eastern Aleppo can remain in charge. Endit