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can be confirmed from multiple sources
Russia
and Syria Warn Rebels/Terrorists: Leave Aleppo By Friday evening.
Rebels Refuse!
3
November, 2016
Russia
and the Syrian army on Wednesday told anti-government rebels in
Aleppo to leave by Friday evening, signalling an extended moratorium
on air strikes in the city.
The
Russian Defense Ministry, which is helping forces loyal to President
Bashar al-Assad to retake full control of Aleppo, said rebels would
be allowed to exit the city unharmed and with their weapons between
0900 and 1900 local time on Nov. 4 via two special corridors.
Civilians
and the sick and wounded would be allowed to leave via six other
corridors, it said.
The
Syrian army released a similar statement later in the day calling on
rebel fighters to cease fire and to “use this opportunity” to
leave the city with their small arms.
Rebels
rejected the calls, an official in an Aleppo-based insurgent group
said.
“This
is completely out of the question. We will not give up the city of
Aleppo to the Russians and we won’t surrender,” Zakaria Malahifji
of the Fastaqim rebel group told Reuters.
He
denied there were corridors guaranteeing safe passage and said
civilians did not trust the government side.
President
Vladimir Putin had ordered the pause in fighting “to avoid
senseless victims”, Russia’s Defense Ministry said, adding that
Syrian authorities would ensure its troops pulled back from the two
corridors designated for rebels.
Russia
and its Syrian allies say they halted air attacks on Aleppo on Oct
18. Western governments said the strikes had killed civilians in
large numbers, an allegation Moscow denied.
Humanitarian
pauses designed to allow both rebels and civilians to exit the city
have been organised by Moscow and Damascus before, but have largely
failed amid continued violence with both sides accusing the other of
stopping people from leaving.
A
Kremlin spokesman said on Tuesday the moratorium on air strikes was
still in force, but could not be extended if rebels in the city did
not halt their attacks.
The
Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that rebels inside Aleppo
had taken heavy losses during fighting and were effectively trapped.
“All
attempts by the rebels to break through in Aleppo have failed,” the
ministry said. “The terrorists have suffered heavy losses in lives,
weapons and equipment. They have no chance to break out of the city.”
Russian
Fleet Arrives
Two
weeks ago, Russia dispatched its North Fleet from the Barents Sea and
elements of its Baltic Fleet, to the Mediterranean off the coast of
Syria. Those ships and submarines began arriving Wednesday and will
be fully arrived by late Thursday.
The
presence of the Russian fleet provides enormous firepower; far more
than has previously been deployed to Syria. This firepower will make
it possible for Russia and Syria to lay waste to Aleppo and all the
rebels in it.
The
"rebels" are backed by the US and NATO, both of which are
operating inside Syria without permission, without a UN Security
Council Resolution, without a Declaration of War and without any
Authorization for the Use of Military Force from the US Congress.
Everything being done there by the US and NATO is completely ILLEGAL.
But
the US is committed to the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad,
because Assad is standing in the way of a natural gas pipeline from
the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, traveling ultimately to Europe.
This pipeline would lessen European dependence upon Russia for
natural gas.
The
question on everyone's mind is whether or not the US/NATO will openly
side with the Rebels and actively oppose Russia and the Syrian
Government? To do so would mean war with Russia . . . and not just
in Syria.
Russia
has made clear that if NATO enters the Syrian conflict by attacking
the Syrian government, war will break out and "it will be war
everywhere." Meaning in Europe and against the mainland of the
United States.
This
is a dangerous time for the world. One wrong move by any side could
launch the world into a battle from which many of us would not
survive.
RT
crew comes under fire as Aleppo militants launch massive new assault
(VIDEO)
RT’s
Murad Gazdiev and his crew came under fire in Aleppo as militant
groups holding the eastern part of the city launched a new assault on
government-held western areas, trying to break the blockade, after
rejecting an offer to leave the city with their arms.
The
neighborhood “has been relatively quiet for the past two days and
we wanted to see what was happening there,” RT’s Gazdiev reported
from Aleppo. “There are still dozens of civilians there, not
everyone managed to leave.”
“We
filmed many other civilians, dozens and dozens with children, some of
the children, injured by this shelling trying to get out, sprinting
in panic,” Gazdiev added, describing the shelling as “some of the
heaviest” for a long time.
The
rebels apparently launched a major new offensive against the
government-held part of the city, radio communications intercepted by
the Syrian military indicate.
“There
were apparently two or three suicide car bombs blown up very close to
us. We hid. We saw many shells landing meters away from us,”
Gazdiev said.
The
Syrian Army helped the RT crew along with civilians being evacuated
from the area.
Although
the number of casualties and wounded has not been revealed, RT’s
crew was informed that many civilians, including children, were being
treated at hospitals for shrapnel and mortar wounds in the aftermath
of the attack.
“When
we got out of there [the Al-Assad neighborhood], we got a call that
there were casualties at the hospitals, we went there, we filmed
many, many people at the hospital… the children, the adults – all
with shrapnel injuries, mortar round injuries,” Gazdiev said.
Earlier
on Wednesday, the Russian military said that last week’s attempts
by the militants to break through the blockade around the city had
failed, and suggested that they leave Aleppo through one of two
corridors opened for that purpose.
Russia
and Syria halted airstrikes on eastern Aleppo two weeks ago amid a
flurry of criticism from the West over civilian casualties in the
city. Moscow said civilians were being held by the militants as human
shields, but agreed to keep warplanes away from the city.
The
offer to leave Aleppo by Friday night was rejected by some groups
controlling the eastern part of the city.
Russia’s
earlier attempts to allow militants to leave and civilians to be
evacuated from eastern Aleppo were thwarted by the more belligerent
groups, which opened fire at anyone trying to use the corridors –
both those meant for armed people and unarmed civilians.
From
the Guardian
Moscow
says evacuation corridors are in place ahead of expected bombardment
of east of Syrian city but rebels plan to stay
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