![ALEPPO, SYRIA: Civil defence members carry out search and rescue operation after war crafts belonging to the Syrian and Russian army carried out airstrikes over residential area at the Batebo district of Aleppo, Syria on 16 November 2016. [Beha El Halebi /Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/20161116_2_20174842_16093358-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moallem rejected a UN proposal on Sunday to grant autonomy to the rebel-held eastern areas of Aleppo, Arabiya Al-Hadath news channel has reported
“The autonomy proposal put forward by [Staffan] de Mistura is rejected completely because it undermines our national sovereignty and rewards terrorism,” Muallem told a press conference after talks with the UN envoy to Syria. De Mistura arrived in Damascus earlier on Sunday to meet officials at the foreign ministry.
Meanwhile, the Syrian army continued its attacks on a number of districts in besieged Aleppo, even though all of the hospitals in the area have been destroyed. According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 97 people were killed in airstrikes that targeted mainly the eastern districts of Aleppo.