UN envoy appeals for ceasefire to deliver aid to Aleppo

The UN special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said on Thursday that the delivery of humanitarian aid to the population of Aleppo requires a period of calm for 48 hours and not just the three hours proposed by Russia.

“We need 48 hours in order to make convoys… effective,” De Mistura told reporters in Geneva. He added that Russia has indicated its willingness to discuss with the UN as soon as possible “how to improve what has been, in my opinion, an initial idea.”

Mistura explained that this week has seen an escalation of the armed conflict and that the civilians on both sides of the front in Aleppo are in great danger. He demanded the provision of emergency medical assistance to the population of the city and stressed that the time issue is of great importance.

A senior officer with the Russian Armed Forces General Staff announced on Wednesday that military operations in Aleppo will stop for three hours a day starting on Thursday. Lieutenant-General Sergei Rudskoy said that this was to allow the passage of humanitarian aid into the besieged city.