Russia announces ‘humanitarian pause’ in Aleppo after heavy airstrikes

Russian and Syrian forces are preparing a “humanitarian pause” for the besieged city of Aleppo on Thursday, the head of Russia’s military general staff said.

Lt Gen Sergei Rudskoi was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying that Russian and Syrian forces will halt their fighting from 8am to 4pm on 20 October in order to allow civilians and rebels safe passage out of the city as well as for the evacuation of the sick and wounded.

He said there will be two corridors by which people can leave the city.

The “humanitarian pause” was announced after air strikes on rebel-held areas in Aleppo province killed at least 36 people, including children, according to opposition activists.

0 Lt Gen Sergei Rudskoi: Civilians will be allowed safe passage

Most of the deaths were in the village of Oweijel, just west of the city, where at least 23 people were killed in an air strike that also wounded dozens, according to the Britainbased Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Another monitoring group, the Local Co-ordination Committees, said the air raid was carried out by Russian warplanes and put the death toll at 30.

More than a dozen people were also killed in a besieged eastern rebel-held neighbourhood in Aleppo.

The eastern parts of the city, Syria’s largest, have been subjected in recent weeks to the worst aerial attacks in years.

The air strikes have claimed hundreds of lives, wounded many others and demolished entire buildings.

Opposition activists have blamed Russian and Syrian government warplanes.