Russian-Declared Ceasefire Goes into Effect in Aleppo

Local Editor

A 10-hour Russian-declared ceasefire for militant-held areas of Syria's second city Aleppo began Friday morning with the goal of encouraging civilians leave and militants to surrender.

The Russian military had set up cameras in Aleppo that will display live pictures of the humanitarian corridors for militants online. A unilateral ceasefire in the embattled Syrian city came into force at 9am local time on Friday and will last for ten hours, until 7pm.

The cams had been set up on the ground near the western part of Castello Road and the El-Masharka checkpoint. An aerial view is also available.

The unilateral ceasefire in the embattled Syrian city of Aleppo announced by the Russian military has started 9am local time on Friday.

The pause is intended to allow civilians and armed militants to leave the eastern part of the city through separate humanitarian corridors.

"To avoid unnecessary casualties, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has declared the humanitarian pause in Aleppo upon an order by Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin," Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, said on Wednesday.

The 10-hour cessation of hostilities was coordinated with Syrian government, General Gerasimov stressed, adding that the militants have no chance of breaking out. One of the corridors for the militants leads to the Turkish-Syrian border and another to Idlib, the general said.

Earlier on Thursday, militants intensified their attacks on the government-held western part of the city.

Aleppo has been divided between government forces and armed militant groups, including al-Nusra terrorists, for over two years. The hostilities in the city have intensified over the past few months, as Damascus deployed additional troops to encircle the militant-held part of Aleppo.

The West has condemned Russia and Syria for the offensive on eastern Aleppo, blaming airstrikes for civilian deaths. Moscow says the militants are preventing civilians from leaving the city and using them as human shields, but has nevertheless paused its sorties against terrorist targets in Aleppo.

The humanitarian pause is the second time Russia and the Syrian government had declared passages open for evacuations.

A similar three-day unilateral ceasefire last month ended with civilians leaving and terrorists surrendering.

Terrorists had been preventing civilian who wanted to leave from evacuating and crossing into government-held territory.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team