Aleppo: The Syrian government on Sunday rejected a UN proposal to for truce in Aleppo, asking rebels to withdraw and saying it would not grant autonomy to the rebel-held area, as a rebel strike in western-Aleppo killed at least eight children in a school.
UN envoy Staffan de Mistura has proposed that the Syrian government grant eastern Aleppo autonomy in exchange for peace, and called on the estimated 900 al-Qaeda-linked militants in the east to depart to other rebel territory.
However Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem stressed on the need for restoring government rule and said that they would not allow people of eastern Aleppo to remain hostage to militants.
Syria had launched an extensive military attack on the rebels in eastern Aleppo last week using air strikes and barrel bombs in a bid to recapture the territory. More than 250,000 people remain in the east of the city, which has been sealed off since government forces surrounded it in mid-July. Observers say there is severe food and fuel shortage as aid has been cut off.
“We are running out of time, we are running against time,” Staffan de Mistura said after the failed talks and warned to international outrage at the bombings in Aleppo.
In an interview to The Gaurdian, de Mistura added that a Syrian government win would be a “pyrrhic victory”, and heavy bombardment could push “moderate” rebels into joining the Islamic State.
More than 3,00,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011.
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