Russia: Aleppo strikes to stop for 8 hours on Thursday

Russian and Syrian armed forces will stop attacks on the Syrian city of Aleppo for eight hours on Thursday to allow civilians and opposition groups to leave the city, the Russian defence ministry revealed today.

But Moscow ruled out a lasting ceasefire, a step that Western governments have been demanding, saying that would only give opposition fighters in the city an opportunity to regroup.

Russian aircrafts and Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad have been bombarding opposition-controlled districts of Aleppo since the collapse of an internationally-brokered ceasefire last month.

The United States and some European states have accused Moscow and Syria of committing atrocities, but Russian officials deny that and accuse the West of abetting terrorists.

Speaking at a briefing in Moscow, Lieutenant-General Sergei Rudskoy, a senior defence ministry official, said opposition fighters in parts of Aleppo were killing civilians while Western governments turned a blind eye.

“Given the situation, a unilateral ceasefire makes no sense, since Jabhat Al-Nusra and groups allied to it will once again be given a breather, will regroup and restore their military capability,” Rudskoy said, referring to a rebel group previously allied to Al-Qaeda.

He said Russia was working with other powers to achieve a peace deal for Aleppo, but that would take time, so in the meantime it had decided to initiate a humanitarian pause.

The pause is intended “first and foremost so that civilians can move freely, for the evacuation of the sick and wounded, and also for the removal of rebels,” he said.

“On October 20 from 08.00 [05.00 GMT] until 16.00, a humanitarian pause will be implemented in the area of Aleppo. For that period, Russia’s air force and Syrian government forces will halt airstrikes and firing from other weapons,” he said.