The Civil Defense Corps declared a state of emergency on Sunday in the city and western countryside of Aleppo after regime and Russian warplanes targeted residential areas located close to the so-called humanitarian corridors Russia and the Assad regime claimed to be safe.
Head of the media office of the Civil Defense Corps Abu Laith said that so far no civilians have crossed into the regime-held parts of the city through the so-called humanitarian corridors. He said pro-regime snipers targeted civilians at the crossing of Salahuddin and Bustan Alqasr districts, forcing them to go back to the besieged neighborhoods.
Rebel and FSA groups early on Sunday announced the start of a large-scale offensive in southern Aleppo to break the siege the Assad regime and allied foreign militias have imposed on the rebel-held areas on Aleppo city since early July. Rebel and FSA groups captured several regime positions in southern Aleppo in the first 12 hours of the offensive.
Member of the Syrian Coalition Ahmed Ramadan on Saturday said that Aleppo residents are calling the corridors that Russia is proposing ‘corridors of death.’ Ramadan accused Russia and the Assad regime of forcing civilians out of their homes through continued bombardment.
“What is taking place right now is not battles, but a complete and systematic destruction of the city of Aleppo and its residents, whether they are civilians or fighters,” Ramadan told AFP on Friday.
Ramadan pointed out that the Syrian opposition sees in the Russian proposal a war crime and a crime against humanity as such a proposal is intended to force residents of the city to leave their homes with the help of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards militias. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Smart News Network)
