Clashes break out in Syria’s Aleppo as ceasefire expires

Clashes between Syrian government forces and terrorists have erupted in the divided city of Aleppo after a unilateral ceasefire announced by Russia came to an end.

According to Press TV, the ceasefire expired on Saturday evening, after a one-day extension on Friday. The truce was aimed at permitting civilians and foreign-sponsored terrorists to leave the eastern areas of the city.

During the ceasefire, eight humanitarian corridors were set up for people to leave to the city, but according to reports they were seldom used.  

Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Sergei Rudskoi said that terrorists were stopping people from using the corridors, using civilians as human shields.

“The terrorists are using the ceasefire in their interest… We are seeing them massing around Aleppo and preparing for another breakthrough into the city's western neighborhoods," he said.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, fierce clashes broke out along the line dividing the city with exchanges of heavy artillery fire. 

Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, has been divided between government forces in the west and the terrorists in the east since 2012. In an attempt to free the trapped civilian population and to end the militants’ reign of terror in the east, the Syrian army, backed by Russian fighter jets, began a major offensive on September 22.

Both Russian and Syrian Air Force fighter jets stopped their bombing of the terrorist-held neighborhoods in Aleppo on Tuesday – two days ahead of the truce.

Chemical weapons in Syria

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has urged the United Nations Security Council to censure the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and called for those responsible to be sanctioned.

"I want ... a clear condemnation of these crimes in a resolution from the UN Security Council ... that places the perpetrators under sanctions," he said.

ME