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1st LD: Rebels in Aleppo fire rockets blocking evacuation of militants

Xinhua, November 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

The rebels fired seven improvised rockets on a key road assigned by the Syrian army for the rebels who want to abandon their positions in the northern city of Aleppo, as a "humanitarian pause" declared by Russia and the Syrian government went into force on Friday, state news agency SANA reported.

The rockets slammed the Castello road, one of the two crossings in northern Aleppo the Syrian army assigned for the rebels who want to surrender or leave the city, said SANA.

One rocket landed near an ambulance parked on the road, injuring a Syrian TV journalist when shrapnels pierced through his leg.

The general command of the Syrian army said Wednesday it would observe a 10-hour "humanitarian pause" on Friday to give civilians and rebels a chance to leave rebel-held areas in eastern Aleppo.

It said the rebels can leave the city through the Castello road and the Souk al-Khair crossing toward rebel-held areas in the northwestern province of Idlib.

The civilians can leave through six passages the army identified to government-controlled areas in western Aleppo.

Now with the shelling on Castello, the truce was largely threatened.

SANA said rebels prevented civilians from leaving, the second time they did so in the past month.

In October, a three-day truce, unilaterally announced by Russia and the Syrian government, failed to achieve its intended goal of giving the civilians a pause to leave rebel-held areas, or to push the rebels to leave Aleppo.

Rebels in eastern Aleppo have repeatedly said they will fight till the siege is broken.

Observers believe that Aleppo is going to be the decisive battle ground among the fighting groups, and the winner will be the one dictating conditions to resolve the crisis. Endit