Air strikes and renewed fighting bring a violent end to ceasefire in Aleppo

Fierce fighting and air strikes has brought a violent end to a ceasefire in the Syrian city of Aleppo. The first Syrian or Russian air strikes on Aleppo since a four-day pause in hostilities began on Thursday hit a key front line in the city’s south-west, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Clashes and shelling which had continued throughout Saturday on front lines intensified later in the day. Three people were reportedly wounded by shelling of the rebel-held Salaheddin and Al-Mashhad districts.

The situation on the ground remains volatile as exchanges of fire and clashes continue. Just today bullets struck the hotel where the U.N. hub is based and critically injured one hotel staff.

U.N. humanitarian spokesman Jens Laerke

The pause began on Thursday after Moscow announced a temporary halt to the Syrian army’s campaign to recapture the divided city. The army opened eight corridors for evacuations but just a handful of people crossed through a single passage, with the others remaining deserted. Rebel forces have been accused of preventing civilians from leaving and using them as “human shields”. The United Nations hoped that the ceasefires would allow medical evacuations and aid deliveries but said a lack of security guarantees had prevented aid workers from taking advantage of the pause in bombing.

Nobody has left through the corridors. The small number of people which who tried to leave were faced with shelling around the (corridor area) and could not leave

Zakaria Malahifji, a rebel official with the Fastaqim group

Middle East