Syria army closes in on key district
Army on the verge of capturing key residential district of Shaar
ALEPPO: Syrian regime forces were on the verge on Tuesday of seizing a major rebel district of Aleppo as Moscow and Washington traded barbs over stalled efforts to end fighting in the city.
After retaking control of about twothirds of east Aleppo in recent days, forces loyal to President Bashar al Assad were advancing in the large residential district of Shaar.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, said if the district is retaken rebel forces will be reduced to a “war of attrition” with the army.
“It is the most important neighbourhood in the heart of east Aleppo, and is on the brink of falling,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said, adding that armed forces were already in control of about a third of the district.
With the capture of Shaar, the army would hold 70 per cent of east Aleppo, four years after rebels first seized it and divided the city.
The regime’s rapid gains have left opposition fighters scrambling to defend the shrinking enclave they still control in Aleppo’s southeastern districts.
Despite mounting criticism of the offensive, world powers have struggled to find a way to halt the fighting.
Russia had announced talks with the United States in Geneva for Tuesday or Wednesday on organising a rebel withdrawal from Aleppo ahead of a ceasefire. But on Tuesday Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Washington of backtracking.
“It looks like an attempt to buy time for the rebels to have a breather, take a pause and replenish their reserves,” Lavrov said, adding that Moscow had the impression that “a serious discussion with our American partners isn’t working out.”
Washington for its part accused Moscow of stalling for time after Russia and China blocked a UN Security Council resolution on Monday calling for a seven-day ceasefire.
Russia said the resolution should have been postponed until after the Geneva talks, saying an agreement on organising a withdrawal was close.
The deputy US envoy to the United Nations, Michele Sison, accused Moscow of using a “made-up alibi” to block the resolution.
“We will continue bilateral negotiations with Russia to relieve the suffering in Aleppo, but we have not reached a breakthrough because Russia wants to keep its military gains.”
Syria’s foreign ministry said that it would not agree to a ceasefire without a guarantee of a rebel withdrawal.
“Syria will not leave its citizens in east Aleppo to be held hostage by terrorists, and will exert every effort to liberate them,” said a foreign ministry statement carried by state news agency Sana.
The rebels have so far rejected any talk of leaving the city, with Yasser al Youssef of the leading Nureddin al Zinki faction describing the proposal as “unacceptable”.