US to Assad: Stop bombing of Aleppo
ALEPPO, Syria—The United States on Saturday demanded that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces halt their bombardment of Aleppo and help restore a nationwide ceasefire, with US Secretary of State John Kerry due to head to Geneva for talks on the conflict.
Terrified residents fled a new wave of air strikes on rebel-held areas of the divided city as key regime backer Russia rejected calls to rein in its ally.
With the peace process hanging by a thread, Kerry was to fly to Geneva on Sunday for talks with UN envoy Staffan de Mistura and the Saudi and Jordanian foreign ministers.
In calls to De Mistura and the lead Syrian opposition negotiator, Kerry expressed “deep concern” about Aleppo, which has suffered some of the worst fighting in a conflict that has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions.
“The secretary made clear that ending the violence in Aleppo and returning ultimately to a durable, nationwide cessation is a top priority,” said a US state department spokesperson, John Kirby.
A truce was called in February between Assad’s forces and a coalition of rebels but has since begun to break down, particularly in the besieged city of Aleppo where nearly 250 people have been killed in the last 10 days.
In the calls, Kerry dismissed the Russian and Assad regime claim that the Aleppo strikes were targeting the Al-Nusra Front, a jihadist force that is not party to the ceasefire.
“The secretary made clear that we urged Russia to take steps to stop regime violations, especially its indiscriminate aerial attacks in Aleppo,” Kirby said.
Aleppo was left out of a new temporary US-Russian brokered truce that appeared to be holding in the regime stronghold of Latakia as well as Damascus and the nearby rebel bastion of Eastern Ghouta.
A new round of UN-backed peace talks is set to start on May 10 in Geneva.
In Aleppo’s rebel-held east, dozens of civilians left the battered Bustan al-Qasr district early Saturday, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent.
“The situation has become unbearable,” Abu Mohammed said as he prepared to flee with his wife and five children. “Everything is paralyzed.”
Russia said that it would not ask Damascus to halt air raids on Aleppo.
“No, we are not going to put pressure on (Damascus) because one must understand that the situation in Aleppo is part of this fight against the terrorist threat,” said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov.
At least 246 civilians have died in shelling, rocket fire and air strikes in both sides of the city since April 22, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
At least 10 civilians died in rebel-controlled areas on Saturday, according to another reports.