Pause in Aleppo air war enters second day

BEIRUT — A pause in Russian and Syrian government air strikes on rebel-held areas of Aleppo held for a second day yesterday, although ground fighting continued in the historic Old City, a monitor said.

Washington had voiced scepticism about how long the lull announced by Moscow from 0700 GMT on Tuesday in anticipation of a wider ceasefire would last.

But 24 hours after the start, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there had been no air strikes on rebelheld east Aleppo, which had been heavily bombed since the army launched an offensive to recapture it on September 22.

"There have been no air raids from yesterday morning until now," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Moscow said the lull was intended to give the more than 250,000 civilians trapped in east Aleppo time to prepare to leave the city during the eight-hour ceasefire announced for Thursday.

Government forces, which have kept rebel areas under near-continuous siege since mid-July, have said they will open six corridors for the safe passage of fleeing civilians.

The ceasefire is scheduled to begin at 0500 GMT on Thursday.

On Wednesday, troops pressed their ground assault in the Old City as they vied to push back the front line in the heart of Aleppo that has remained largely static since the rebels seized the east in 2012.