UN condemns ‘descent into hell’ in Aleppo, civilians flee
ALEPPO, Syria: The UN has condemned the ‘descent into hell’ being endured by civilians in Aleppo, with the Red Cross saying nearly 20,000 people have fled a Syrian government offensive on the city in three days.
Diplomats said the UN Security Council would hold an emergency meeting Wednesday in New York on the humanitarian crisis in Aleppo, where the army has captured a third of oppositioncontrolled east in recent days.
The fighting has prompted an exodus of terrified civilians, many fleeing empty-handed into remaining rebel-held territory, or crossing into governmentcontrolled west Aleppo or Kurdish districts.
Up to 20,000 people have fled the regime offensive in the past 72 hours, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.
ICRC spokeswoman Krista Armstrong said the figure was an estimate and the situation remained fluid as “people are fleeing in different directions”.
East Aleppo has been under government siege for more than four months, with international aid stocks exhausted and food supplies running low.
World Food Programme spokeswoman Bettina Luescher said civilians were enduring a “slow motion descent into hell”.
The French UN ambassador Francois Delattre said “France and its partners cannot remain silent in the face of what could be one of the biggest massacres of civilian population since World War II”.
Government forces have advanced swiftly in their twoweek operation, capturing all of the city’s northeast in a major blow to the opposition.
The loss of their east Aleppo stronghold would be the worst defeat for rebels since Syria’s conflict erupted more than five years ago.
The opposition has steadily lost territory in recent months to government forces bolstered by a Russian military intervention since September 2015. — AFP