Aleppo: Ceasefire between Russian and Syrian forces ends; civilians, rebels ignore opportunity to leave

Updated

A 10-hour ceasefire by Russian and Syrian government forces in Aleppo has come to an end, but neither the Syrian rebels nor civilians have shown signs of leaving the opposition-held city.

Key points: Syrian Government, Russian allies to resume air strikes after 10-hour repreive

Rebels and residents ignore opportunity to leave besieged east

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says no sign of resumed bombing yet

The Government sent ambulances and buses to take people out of the besieged zone as it has done at other times during the pause, but there was still no sign that anybody would leave.

Just hours before the end of the ceasefire loomed, residents contacted by Reuters seemed resigned to the resumption in bombing, which killed hundreds of people in late September and early October.

"Nothing can be done. Nobody can stop the planes," said Bebars Mishal, an official with the White Helmets civil defence volunteer group in eastern Aleppo, which digs victims out of the rubble and runs an ambulance service.

He said there was no way for rescue workers or medical staff to prepare in advance of the expected resumption of attacks.

"All we can do is take precautions and be ready 24 hours a day," Mr Mishal said.

Earlier, the Government and its Russian allies had abandoned the ceasefire to launch their assault on the biggest urban area in opposition hands.

The rebels' own shelling of residential parts of Government-held western Aleppo killed dozens in the past week as insurgent groups staged a counter-attack from outside the city aimed at breaking the siege on areas they control.

Moscow and Damascus said their pause in bombing the city was due to end at 7:00pm local time (3:00am Saturday AEST), accusing rebels of having used the pause to reinforce and launch attacks on government-held areas.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said that there was no sign yet of resumed aerial bombardment of central parts of the city.

The Government and its Russian allies say they target only militants, and that fighters are to blame for civilian casualties by operating in civilian areas.

Western countries say the bombing has deliberately targeted hospitals, aid workers and bakeries and Washington has accused Moscow of "war crimes". Rebels say the aim is to drive out civilians, some 275,000 of whom remain in the besieged zone.

"They call it a ceasefire. The regime hasn't let us hear the end of it," said Modar Shekho, a nurse in rebel-held eastern Aleppo.

"As usual, when it ends they will let the bombardment loose. We've gotten used to this."

Aleppo has become the focal point of fighting in Syria's war, now in its sixth year, pitting President Bashar al-Assad and his allies against Sunni rebel groups including some supported by Turkey, Gulf Arab monarchies and the United States.

Reuters

Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, terrorism, world-politics, syrian-arab-republic

First posted </s> Scores of people have died following a series of airstrikes in the Syrian cities of Aleppo and Idlib - hours after the US and Russia announced plans for a nationwide ceasefire to begin on Monday.

In Idlib, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 58 people were killed in a series of bombings, including one on a vegetable market, with 13 children among the dead.

Footage showed the corpses of a charred child and other victims being pulled mangled bodies from beneath rubble.

"The market was full of shoppers going to buy presents for their kids, they were all civilians," said Salem Idlibi, a civil

defence worker.

Rebel-held areas have also been attacked in Aleppo, which was hit from the air as fighting continued on the ground.

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At least 30 people died when barrel bombs were dropped from army helicopters in the east and further civilian deaths were reported elsewhere in the city and across the province.

Both sides appear to be trying to maximise gains before the cessation of hostilities begins at sundown on Monday, which is the start of the Muslim Eid al Adha holiday.

Kerry And Lavrov Declare Syria Ceasefire Plan

The Syrian government has told Moscow it is prepared to comply with the deal, and opposition forces have also said they will fulfil the peace plan's requirements if the government demonstrates it is serious about ending the bloodshed.

Syria's moderate Free Syrian Army said they saw little chance of the deal's success, with a spokesman for one of its brigades saying that Damascus and Moscow had not observed the last agreement so were unlikely to observe this one.

"We hope this will be the beginning of the end of the civilians' ordeal," Bassma Kodmani, a leading member of the opposition umbrella group, the High Negotiations Committee, said.

Peace Deal Struck For Syria

But Captain Abdul Salam Abdul Razak, a spokesman for the rebel Nour al-Din al Zinki Brigades, said the deal would only help the Syrian army to gather forces and send more Iranian-backed fighters into Aleppo.

Truces agreed in the past have collapsed after both sides failed to hold up their ends of the bargain.

If the planned cessation of hostilities holds for seven days, it will be followed by an unlikely military partnership between the US and Russia to target Islamic State and al Qaeda.

11 August: Aleppo - The Ongoing Humanitarian Crisis

"Going after Nusra is not a concession to anybody," US Secretary of State John Kerry said.

"It is profoundly in the interests of the United States to target al Qaeda, to target al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, which is Nusra, an organisation that is opposed to a peaceful transition, an organisation that is an enemy of the legitimate opposition, an organisation that is currently plotting attacks beyond Syria's borders, including against the United States."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov added: "I want to stress that distinguishing between terrorists and moderate oppositions has been written as a priority into the document that we agreed today."

Turkey targeted Islamic State on Saturday, reportedly killing at least 20 militants as buildings and vehicles near the town of Tel el-Hawa were destroyed, according to reports.

Syrian Rebels Form 'New' Front

Washington has been tasked with persuading "moderate" rebels to break away from the Nusra Front and other extremist groups.

Mr Kerry said the deal the was a potential "turning point" in the long-running civil war which has killed as many as 500,000 people and displaced millions of others.

However, he warned the plan could be described as nothing more than an opportunity until it is successfully enforced.

Mr Lavrov said the deal would allow efficient co-operation in the struggle against terrorism, and expand humanitarian access to Syria's worst-hit towns and cities.

Turkey, which made a major military incursion into the north of Syria two weeks ago, said it was preparing aid for Aleppo once the truce was in place.

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson welcomed the plan, adding a call for "all parties to the Syria conflict and all countries with influence upon them to do what is needed to end violence and lift sieges". </s> Members of the Syrian civil defence, known as the White Helmets, search for victims amid the rubble of a destroyed building following reported air strikes in the rebel-held Qatarji neighbourhood of the northern city of Aleppo, on Monday (AFP photo)

ALEPPO — Russia on Monday announced an eight-hour "humanitarian" ceasefire in Aleppo later this week, as the EU warned that the Syrian regime's Moscow-backed assault on the city could amount to war crimes.

The United Nations and European Union welcomed the announcement, but said Thursday's planned pause in fighting needed to be longer to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.

In the latest violence, dozens of civilians including 12 members of the same family were killed in heavy bombardment of rebel-held eastern sectors of the embattled city, a monitoring group said.

"We have taken a decision not to waste time and to introduce 'humanitarian pauses', mainly for the free passage of civilians, evacuation of the sick and wounded and withdrawal of fighters," senior Russian military officer Sergei Rudskoi told a press briefing in Moscow.

The ceasefire would run from 0800 to 1600 local time (0500 GMT to 1300 GMT) “in the area of Aleppo”, Rudskoi said.

“During this period the Russian air force and Syrian government troops will halt air strikes and firing from any other types of weapons.”

Russia’s announcement, to which there was no immediate reaction from rebels, came as the EU condemned the ferocious air war waged on Aleppo over the past three weeks.

“Since the beginning of the offensive by the regime and its allies, notably Russia, the intensity and scale of the aerial bombardment of eastern Aleppo is clearly disproportionate,” EU foreign ministers said in Luxembourg.

“The deliberate targeting of hospitals, medical personnel, schools and essential infrastructure, as well as the use of barrel bombs, cluster bombs, and chemical weapons, constitute a catastrophic escalation of the conflict... and may amount to war crimes,” they said in a statement.

The EU ministers said they would also press ahead with extending sanctions against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, but stopped short of threatening measures against Russia.

EU Foreign Affairs Chief Federica Mogherini called Moscow’s announcement “positive” but not long enough to allow humanitarian aid to reach the besieged city.

“It can be a start... for sure it is a positive step,” she told reporters at the close of the ministerial meeting in Luxembourg.

“The latest assessment from the aid agencies [however] is that 12 hours is needed so work is needed to find common ground,” she added.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric also welcomed the truce announcement but stressed the “need for a longer pause in order to get the aid in”.

Once Syria’s thriving commercial hub, Aleppo has been ravaged by air raids and intensifying clashes as regime forces fight to capture the rebel-held east.

Russian air support for the onslaught — which has destroyed hospitals and other civilian infrastructure — has spurred the accusations of potential war crimes.

Monday’s air strikes on Aleppo killed 13 civilians in the rebel-held district of Marjeh, including 12 members of the same family, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“Nine of the family members were minors, including a 17-year-old girl and her newborn,” said the Britain-based group’s head Rami Abdel Rahman.

The deaths brought to 47 the number of people killed since Sunday morning in east Aleppo, the observatory said.

The deadliest raids were overnight on a residential block in Qaterji, where the Observatory said Russian strikes killed 18 civilians.



“There are still families under the ruins. We pulled out seven or eight bodies and dozens of wounded,” said ambulance driver Abu Mohammed.

More than 430 people have been killed in bombardment on the eastern half since the assault on Aleppo was announced on September 22, according to the observatory.

Another 82 people have died in rebel fire on government-held neighbourhoods in the west.

Further west in Aleppo province, Russian raids killed 23 people in the village of Uwaijal on Monday, said the observatory.

US Secretary of State John Kerry met his counterparts from Russia, Iran, and Syria’s neighbours in Switzerland on Saturday, and travelled on to London for meetings with the British and other European foreign ministers.

Kerry said the Lausanne meeting produced new ideas on reviving a Syrian truce, after a ceasefire jointly brokered by Moscow and Washington broke down last month, but said high-level contacts to flesh them out would continue on Monday.

Syria’s war has devolved from a widespread protest movement against Assad’s rule to a multi-front war between rebels, jihadists, Kurds and regime forces.

Turkish-backed rebels dealt a major symbolic blow to the Daesh terror group on Sunday by overrunning the northern Syrian town of Dabiq. </s> A ceasefire has been reached between Moscow and Syrian rebels allowing the evacuation of civilians and fighters from eastern Aleppo, the Russian ambassador to the UN has said.

The amabassador informed the international community on Tuesday evening that the Syrian-led "counter-terrorism operation" in eastern Aleppo will end in a few hours.

The alleged agreemnet will effectively cede the remainder of Syria's largest city to government troops after months of a deadly siege.

The ceasefire comes after the UN reported possible mass killings by government troops as they closed in on the rebels’ last enclave in the city.

Osama Abu Zayd, a Turkey-based legal advisor for an umbrella group of rebel factions known as the Free Syrian Army, said the ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday evening and that the first batch will begin evacuating within hours.

Yasser al-Youssef, a spokesman for the Nour el-Din el-Zinki rebel group, confirmed the ceasefire and said the goal is to evacuate civilians and rebels from besieged areas.

It was not immediately clear whether the hostilities had ceased in Aleppo. The opposition-run Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said shelling was continuing.

World leaders and aid agencies issued dramatic appeals on behalf of trapped residents earlier Tuesday, and the UN human rights office said that pro-government forces reportedly killed 82 civilians "on the spot" as they closed in on remaining rebel districts.

That and other reports of mass killings, which could not be independently confirmed, reinforce fears of atrocities in eastern Aleppo in the final hours of the battle for the city - which has been split between rebel and government control since 2012.

Several residents and opposition activists said that government forces carried out summary killings of rebels in the streets in neighbourhoods captured on Monday, but the Syrian military flatly denied the claims, saying such allegations were "a desperate attempt" to try gain international sympathy. </s> (CNN) Aleppo residents will be allowed to leave on Thursday under a new ceasefire agreement reached overnight, a rebel group said.

According to Ahmad Qurah Ali, spokesman for the Ahrar al-Sham rebel group, the deal was reached late Wednesday and will permit injured people to be evacuated beginning in the morning.

The original ceasefire brokered Tuesday collapsed less than a day after it began.

Deaths were reported on both sides Wednesday, while some 50,000 civilians are thought to remain inside the small pocket of eastern Aleppo still under rebel control.

The brief ceasefire, which Turkey and Russia helped broker, aimed to begin evacuating rebels and civilians from the city Wednesday morning, but that didn't happen.

Turkey and activists on the ground accused the Syrian regime and other forces of heavy shelling and bombardment as world leaders demanded a new ceasefire deal.

Latest developments

Diplomats from Turkey, Russia and Iran will meet December 27 in Moscow to discuss the situation in Aleppo

UN human rights chief says resumed bombardment in Aleppo likely a war crime

US ambassador to United Nations says to other members: "You have a responsibility to denounce these atrocities"

Doctors in the city are "terrified and losing hope," Doctors Without Borders says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Syrian regime of breaking ceasefire

Planned evacuations of civilians at dawn Wednesday did not happen

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to congratulate him, state media say

Ceasefire a 'false hope'

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said he was appalled by the ceasefire agreement's swift collapse.

"While the reasons for the breakdown in the ceasefire are disputed, the resumption of extremely heavy bombardment by the Syrian government forces and their allies on an area packed with civilians is almost certainly a violation of international law and most likely constitutes war crimes," he said in a statement Wednesday.

Speaking to CNN from Aleppo Wednesday night, ITV correspondent Dan Rivers described what he said was a "constant percussion of artillery tank-fire."

"We've seen rockets streaking behind us," he said.

Aref Al-Aref, a medic inside the zone, spoke to CNN over the phone Wednesday as the sounds of two explosions rang in the background.

"People were hopeful that they were leaving this hell. But it was a false hope," he said.

"We are now worried about leaving the house. If the regime decides to launch an air raid, a massacre will take place right away. The area we are left in is too small."

Syrians fleeing the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood on Tuesday.

An Aleppo resident who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity gave a harrowing account of the scene at a hospital in a rebel-controlled part of eastern Aleppo.

"I thought I walked into a slaughterhouse. There were dead bodies everywhere," the resident said. "There were many, many, wounded people. The doctors are not able to cope with the load anymore. They ran out of plasma and other medical supplies."

In rebel-held areas, food and supplies are running out, the resident said. "People are living on the very last remaining sacks of baking flour they have. They are using wood from furniture they take from the house to use for cooking. There is no more cooking gas."

The Syrian regime is on the brink of taking the whole city of Aleppo, having made sweeping gains in just over two weeks since its forces, backed by airstrikes, entered the enclave by ground.

As the situation in Aleppo changes rapidly, CNN will update the map with information from sources on the ground.

Rebel groups held eastern Aleppo for more than four years after the Arab Spring uprising, and a regime siege on the area had essentially cut it off from the outside world, sparking a humanitarian crisis there.

If the regime does take control of the key city, it would mark a turning point in the brutal five-year war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.

JUST WATCHED Why is Aleppo so important in Syria? Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Why is Aleppo so important in Syria? 01:28

'Why are you silent?'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday accused the regime of breaking the truce.

"Turkey will not leave the people of Aleppo alone," he said, according to state-run news agency Anadolu.

"I call all parties and international society to respect the ceasefire, to support it. A humanitarian corridor should be open and innocent people should be able to leave with no obstacle and sabotage. People of Eastern Aleppo should leave safe and sound."

Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about the ceasefire agreement on Wednesday, underscoring that it should be applied, violations should be avoided and the promised evacuations should occur, Turkey's official Anadolou news agency reported.

The top diplomats of Turkey, Russia and Iran are set to meet on December 27 in Moscow to discuss the situation in Aleppo, Turkey's official news agency Anadolu reported Wednesday, citing Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. No further details were reported regarding the meeting or the agenda.

But diplomatic efforts so far have seemed to have little impact on the streets of Aleppo, where the situation Wednesday appeared increasingly grim.

A missile just fell on the roof of my building

Now the people who were waiting the buses have to run back for their lives again find shelter pic.twitter.com/WGGfc1BEdX — salah ashkar (@SalahAshkar) December 14, 2016

Aleppo Media Center activist Salah Ashkar told CNN earlier that shelling was ongoing in his neighborhood, and posted a video to Twitter showing walls in his building damaged and rubble all over the rooftop.

"A missile just fell on the roof of my building," he said in the video. "Now the people who were waiting (for) the buses have to run back for their lives again (to) find shelter."

Fatemah Alabed, the mother of a 7-year-old girl whose tweets from Aleppo have captured the world's attention, said intense bombing was taking place, asking: "Why are you silent? Why?"

Dear world, there's intense bombing right now. Why are you silent? Why? Why? Why? Fear is killing me & my kids. - Fatemah #Aleppo — Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) December 14, 2016

Alabed also tweeted directly to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, saying they had hope Tuesday, "but what's happening now? Please help us now. No more time left."

Cavusoglu responded, saying "Keep your hope my sister. Turkey hears your call."

Keep your hope my sister. Turkey hears your call. We work hard to end the nightmare you and many children in Syria are going through. https://t.co/MMwe0QPteP — Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) December 14, 2016

In Paris, the Eiffel Tower went dark Wednesday night as a gesture of solidarity with the people of Aleppo.

No evacuations Wednesday

As government forces were on the brink of taking all of Aleppo, a ceasefire originally was announced late Tuesday that was to see government troops, regime-aligned militia and rebel forces stand down on Wednesday.

JUST WATCHED Goodbye messages from Aleppo Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Goodbye messages from Aleppo 01:31

The first group of evacuees scheduled to leave was supposed to consist of 70 injured people and family members -- a total of 150 people. Buses waited to carry them out, but the ceasefire crumbled.

Syrian residents fleeing eastern Aleppo in fear on December 7.

An International Committee of the Red Cross official in Aleppo told CNN the organization "is ready to help the parties to this agreement in overseeing the evacuation of civilians."

He added that they are "on standby" in case a request is made to support in an evacuation.

World Vision has said it is ready in Syria and can help as many as 100,000 displaced people. </s> A ceasefire brokered by Russia and the United States took effect in Syria at sundown Monday, but there was deep scepticism over whether it would take hold.

The initial 48-hour truce entered into force at 7:00 pm local time (1600 GMT) across Syria except in areas held by jihadists like the Islamic State group.

Its fragility was underscored in the hours leading up to sundown, with opposition forces yet to formally sign on and President Bashar al-Assad vowing to retake the whole country from "terrorists".

The deal, announced Friday after marathon talks between Russia and the United States, has been billed as the best chance yet to halt the bloodshed in Syria's five-year civil war.

As well as bringing a temporary end to the fighting, it aims to provide crucial aid to hundreds of thousands of desperate civilians.

Just before the truce came into force, senior Russian military official Sergei Rudskoi said the ceasefire would cover all of Syria except "terrorist targets".

"Today from 1900 (local time) the cessation of hostilities is being resumed across all the territory of Syria," Rudskoi said at a briefing, adding that Russia would "continue to carry out strikes against terrorist targets."

Under the agreement, fighting will halt in areas not held by jihadists and aid deliveries to besieged areas will begin, with government and rebel forces ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access in particular to divided Aleppo city.

The ceasefire will be renewed every 48 hours and, if it holds for a week, Moscow and Washington will begin unprecedented joint targeting of jihadist forces.

World powers have thrown their weight behind this new deal after several rounds of peace efforts failed to end the conflict that has killed more than 290,000 people.

But Syria's opposition and rebels are deeply sceptical that Assad's regime will abide by the truce agreement, and demanded guarantees before endorsing a deal.

"We are asking for guarantees especially from the United States, which is a party to the agreement," Salem al-Muslet from the High Negotiations Committee, the main opposition umbrella group, told AFP Monday.

"We fear that Russia will classify all the Free Syrian Army (rebel factions) as terrorists," as it was unclear how the deal defined "terrorist groups", he said.

Rebel groups on Sunday sent a letter to the US saying they would "deal positively with the idea of the ceasefire" but listed several "concerns" and stopped short of a full endorsement.

"The clauses of the agreement that have been shared with us do not include any clear guarantees or monitoring mechanisms... or repercussions if there are truce violations," they said.

Ahmad al-Saoud, who heads the US-backed Division 13 rebel group which signed the letter, said they had received no response.

Just moments before the ceasefire came into force, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported that three people were killed in regime shelling in the rebel-held town of Douma near Damascus.

Questions remain about how the ceasefire will apply in parts of Syria where the jihadist Fateh al-Sham Front, previously known as Al-Nusra Front, is present.

A crucial part of the deal calls for rebels to distance themselves from the group before joint US-Russian operations against it begin.

But Fateh al-Sham cooperates closely with many of Syria's rebels, including the powerful Ahrar al-Sham faction, which on Sunday issued a scathing condemnation of the Russian-US deal.

In a message marking the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, Ahrar al-Sham's deputy leader Ali al-Omar said Syria's "people cannot accept half-solutions".

Russia's deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov told state-run news agency RIA Novosti that peace talks could resume within a month.

"I think that probably at the very beginning of October, (UN envoy Staffan) de Mistura should be inviting all parties" to talks, he said.

Syria's government and its allies including Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement have backed the truce.

But on Monday Assad made clear he was intent on recapturing all of Syria.

"The Syrian state is determined to recover every area from the terrorists," he said as he toured Daraya, a former rebel stronghold that surrendered last month after a four-year government siege.

"The armed forces are continuing their work, relentlessly and without hesitation, regardless of internal or external circumstances," he added.

The run-up to the truce has also seen a spike in violence, with at least 74 people killed in strikes on Aleppo and Idlib cities over the weekend.

Fresh raids hit Aleppo Monday, an AFP correspondent said, where residents have struggled to celebrate Eid amid shortages created by a renewed government siege.

Aleppo has been divided between rebels in the east and regime forces in the west since mid-2012.

In August, rebels broke a weeks-long regime siege of the east, but Assad loyalists restored the blockade on September 8.

"We hope there will be a ceasefire so that civilians can get a break," said east Aleppo resident Abu Abdullah. "Civilians have no hope any more." </s> Shoppers and children return to the streets of Aleppo as a ceasefire between government troops and rebel forces enters its third day. Rough Cut (no reporter narration). </s> Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption Smoke is seen rising in this rebel-held area on Wednesday

A deal to evacuate rebel fighters and civilians from eastern Aleppo has stalled, with heavy shelling reported in the Syrian city.

A ceasefire was declared in Aleppo on Tuesday and buses brought in to ferry people out of the devastated enclave.

But fighting resumed on Wednesday. Syrian activists also say air strikes over rebel-held territory have resumed.

The breakdown of the deal, brokered by Russia and Turkey, is being attributed to demands from the government side.

It is said to be seeking the evacuation of injured fighters and civilians from nearby towns encircled by opposition forces.

The latest on the ground

Eastern Aleppo has been held by the rebels since 2012. But they have been squeezed into ever-smaller areas in recent months by a major government offensive, backed by Russian air power.

In recent days government troops have made sweeping gains. Russia's military said on Wednesday that rebels were confined to only 2.5sq km of the city.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Buses were brought in for evacuations but have not been used

Late on Tuesday, Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told an emergency session of the UN Security Council that "military actions in eastern Aleppo are over".

Under the evacuation deal, civilians and rebels from eastern Aleppo were to be allowed to go to rebel-held areas in northern Syria.

Evacuations had been due to start at 05:00 (03:00 GMT), but did not go ahead. Fresh shelling was reported several hours later.

"The clashes are violent and bombardment is very heavy... it seems as though everything (the ceasefire) is finished," Rami Abdulrahman, director of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) monitoring group, said.

The SOHR also said aircraft had resumed bombing in rebel-held areas.

Russia - Syria's ally - said the Syrian army resumed firing after the rebels broke the truce. Syrian TV reported rebel rocket fire on government-held parts of the city and said at least six people had been killed.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Syrian forces of breaking the ceasefire deal and called the situation in Aleppo "very fragile". He said civilians had to be allowed to leave.

The residents still under siege

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Bombs interrupt interview as Zouhir Alshimale, a journalist in east Aleppo, says there is nowhere to go that is safe

Residents of besieged eastern Aleppo have faced weeks of bombardment and chronic food and fuel shortages. Medical facilities in the city have largely been reduced to rubble.

AFP news agency reported that before the fighting had resumed, crowds of civilians, holding belongings, had gathered in the streets to await evacuation.

Some information continues to emerge from besieged areas:

Ibrahim Abu-Laith, a spokesman for the White Helmets volunteer rescue group, said more than 40 people were injured in eastern Aleppo

One resident, Zohair, told the BBC there was total chaos. "We don't know how many casualties there are and if there is anyone to help them"

"Bombing is ongoing, no one can move," one activist, Mohammad al-Khatib told AFP. "The wounded and dead are lying in the street. No one dares to try and retrieve the bodies"

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "Here comes the barrel bomb" - trapped resident Joud al-Khatib in Aleppo

Residents say they fear reprisals from government forces or being forcibly conscripted. There have also been reports of atrocities.

On Tuesday the UN said it had received reliable evidence of summary executions taking place, saying that in four areas 82 civilians were killed by pro-government forces. It said that many more may have died.

Syria's government and Russia said the allegations were untrue.

Meanwhile, the BBC has learned that Western forces are using satellites and unmanned aircraft to gather evidence of possible war crimes in Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria.

How many people are in eastern Aleppo?

It is not clear exactly how many people remain in besieged areas. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura put the figure at about 50,000.

He said there were approximately 1,500 rebel fighters, about 30% of whom were from the jihadist group formerly known as the al-Nusra Front.

Other local sources say there could be as many as 100,000 people, many of them arriving from areas recently taken by the government.

High stakes - by Sebastian Usher, BBC Middle East analyst

The deal to evacuate rebel fighters and civilians out of eastern Aleppo is only the latest and most complex of such arrangements. It is also the one with the highest stakes.

Rebel-held towns in a ring around Damascus have one by one ceded in similar ways.

The choreography often follows the same pattern, with buses waiting hours or days at evacuation points as final guarantees on both sides are hammered out. Safe passage to the rebel-held province of Idlib has also been part of such deals.

More rarely, the agreements have involved reciprocal evacuations from government areas encircled by rebels. That now seems to have been made part of this deal, complicating it further.

The violence has resumed, but that does not mean that the deal is off. The rebels have reached a point of no return. Many more lives may be lost in the meantime, but it is all but certain that the fighters will leave Aleppo. </s> Aleppo, Syria (CNN) The Syrian army has stopped all military actions in Aleppo and is focusing efforts on evacuating residents, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday.

"This is the largest ever evacuation of eastern Aleppo residents, with close to 5,000 residents being moved," Lavrov told reporters at the summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE, in Hamburg, Germany.

Lavrov's words were echoed by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who called this the "biggest operation for civilian evacuation."

CNN crews on the ground in Aleppo could still hear mortar rounds going off despite the announcement.

Lavrov's comments come one day after a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss ways to end the bombing of Aleppo, allow safe passage of those who want to flee the war-torn northern Syrian city, and deliver humanitarian aid to its remaining residents.

The two met for about 45 minutes Wednesday evening in Hamburg, ahead of a two-day OSCE summit. They discussed "ongoing multilateral efforts" to end the fighting in the city, State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

"We're working ... and we have to wait for certain feedback and input, but we are working on something and we'll see where we get. Confident. Hopeful. We'll see where we are, " Kerry told reporters Thursday morning before leaving the OSCE meeting.

Plans to end the violence include a US-led initiative, floated on December 2, to guarantee safe passage of rebel forces out of the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo.

Russian state news agency TASS reported the Russian government supports the US initiative.

"I confirm the support to the US initiative of December 2," Lavrov told a reporter after his meeting with Kerry, according to TASS.

Lavrov and US officials are set to meet in Geneva on Saturday to discuss "militants' pullout from Aleppo," according to Russian state media.

Assad not in favor of ceasefire.

He lauded the Syrian army's assault on Aleppo, claiming the effort to recapture it represents "a significant landmark" in bringing the country's 5-year civil war to a close.

However, in his first public comments since the Aleppo offensive began in mid-November, he also cautioned that retaking Aleppo did not in itself mean an end to the bloody conflict.

"The battle of Aleppo will be a gain, but to be realistic, it doesn't mean the end of the war in Syria," he said.

"It is a significant landmark towards the end of the battle, but the war in Syria will not end until terrorism is eliminated."

Overall, the rebels hold only about a quarter of war-ravaged eastern Aleppo, residents and activists inside the city told CNN.

Many civilians remain trapped in the shrinking rebel-held area, with food, fuel and medical supplies almost exhausted and no safe route out.

On Wednesday, Syrian rebels in that sector called for a five-day humanitarian ceasefire, and the Syria Civil Defense, better known as the White Helmets, Thursday called for safe passage for their volunteers, families and other humanitarian workers as Syrian government forces and their allies close in.

"If we are not evacuated our volunteers face torture and execution in the regime's detention centers and therefore we need urgent action to save the lives of humanitarians in the besieged part of the city," the group said, adding members believe they only have about 48 hours left.

James Prince, president of the Democracy Council -- which works with US-backed Syrian opposition groups -- said a lack of US support has left the opposition with no leverage to negotiate and is forcing it to surrender and leave Aleppo to stop the bombing.

"Let's be clear. This is a withdrawal by opposition forces from Aleppo in the face of massive combined force of Russia, Hezbollah and the Assad government," Prince said.

"Other than the humanitarian benefit of evacuating civilians, the reassertion of Assad's control of Syria's most populous city will lead to more bloodshed and bolster recruitment efforts of extremists like (ISIS).

"The world needs to find a comprehensive solution in Syria that involves transition to a legitimate federal government and the withdrawal of all foreign forces."

One activist in eastern Aleppo told CNN as many as 200,000 people, including rebels and their families, were crammed into 10 rebel-held neighborhoods, some having fled from other areas under fire.

He described the situation as "apocalyptic," saying the few medical facilities still operating were packed with injured civilians and resembled "slaughterhouses," with no medical supplies or proper equipment.

Dozens of people have been killed daily in the strikes and crossfire between the regime and rebels since the Syrian forces began their push into eastern Aleppo on November 26, activist groups said.
A short ceasefire ends as residents of Aleppo prepare for a resumption of bombing.