Aleppo Assault “Most Likely Constitutes War Crimes”, Says UN

As the rebel-held districts of Aleppo falls, there is no sign of any evacuation of the 250, 000 civilians.

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian troops and pro-government gunmen marching walk inside the destroyed Grand Umayyad mosque. (Photo: AP)

Plans to evacuate the besieged rebel districts of Aleppo were under threat on Wednesday as renewed air strikes and shelling rocked the Syrian city in a bombardment that according to the United Nations "most likely constitutes war crimes".

Iran, one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's main backers, imposed new conditions on a ceasefire deal, saying it wanted the simultaneous evacuation of wounded from two villages besieged by rebel fighters, according to rebel and UN sources.

There was no sign of that happening despite officials in the pro-Assad military alliance confirming the Aleppo truce deal saying that 15, 000 people will be evacuated from the besieged village.

Instead air strikes, shelling and gunfire erupted in Aleppo and Turkey accused government forces of breaking the truce agreed less than a day before. Syrian state television said that rebel shelling killed six people.

As the battle for Aleppo unfolds, global concern is rising over the plight of the 250,000 civilians who were thought to remain in its rebel-held eastern sector before the sudden army advance began at the end of November.

Many Syrians have posted their farewell messages on social media platform, as the Assad army continues to march in, urging the world to save Aleppo.

A ceasefire brokered by Russia, Assad's most powerful ally, and Turkey was intended to end years of fighting in the city, giving the Syrian president his biggest victory after more than five years of war. The evacuation of rebel-held areas was expected to start in the early hours of Wednesday, but did not materialise.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein, said he was appalled that the evacuation deal appeared to have collapsed.

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.

Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, UN High Commissioner

There was no immediate indication when the evacuation of civilians and rebel fighters might take place but a pro-opposition TV station said it could be delayed until Thursday. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed in a phone call to make a joint effort to start the process, Turkish presidential sources said.

“Complete Meltdown of Humanity”

A total of 15,000 people, including 4,000 rebel fighters, wanted to leave Aleppo, according to a media unit run by the Syrian government's ally Hezbollah.

The evacuation plan was the culmination of two weeks of rapid advances by the Syrian army and its allies that drove insurgents back into an ever-smaller pocket of the city under intense air strikes and artillery fire.

By taking full control of Aleppo, Assad has proved the power of his military coalition, aided by Russia's air force and an array of Shi'ite militias from across the region.

The rout of rebels in Aleppo sparked a mass flight of terrified civilians and insurgents in bitter weather, a crisis the United Nations said was a "complete meltdown of humanity". There were food and water shortages in rebel areas, with all hospitals closed.

On Tuesday, the United Nations voiced deep concern about reports it had received of Syrian soldiers and allied Iraqi fighters deliberately shooting 82 civilians dead in recaptured east Aleppo districts. It accused the Syrian army and its allies of "slaughter".

(With inputs from Reuters)