UN warns of 'giant graveyard'
Hundreds of elite Syrian troops moved into east Aleppo yesterday ahead of a push into the most densely populated areas, after the UN warned the city risked becoming a "giant graveyard".
Despite fierce global criticism, forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have pressed an assault to retake control of all of Aleppo, once Syria's commercial hub but now a divided city in ruins.
The assault -- backed by heavy artillery fire -- has spurred a mass exodus of tens of thousands of residents from rebel-held districts.
The relentless barrage has left Aleppo's streets strewn with the bodies of men, women and children, many lying next to the suitcases they had packed to escape.
The steady artillery fire could again be heard pounding rebel areas early yesterday, with heavy rainfall adding to the misery.
The assault has seen Assad's forces make significant gains in the last week. After overrunning the city's northeast, they were in control of 40 percent of the territory once held by opposition forces in Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The violence in Aleppo has sparked widespread outrage, but little concrete action from the international community.
Speaking to a special Security Council session on Wednesday, UN humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien made an urgent appeal.
"For the sake of humanity we call on -- we plead -- with the parties and those with influence to do everything in their power to protect civilians and enable access to the besieged part of eastern Aleppo before it becomes one giant graveyard," he said.
Meanwhile, Russia yesterday said it will continue military operations in the besieged and battered eastern part of Aleppo until the city is "cleared of terrorists".
Speaking at a press conference on a visit to Turkey after a meeting his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in the Mediterranean town of Alanya, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would continue efforts to allow humanitarian aid into Aleppo and acknowledged the need for a truce.
However, UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura said Syria and Russia have declined the UN's request for a pause in the fighting to evacuate the estimated 400 sick and wounded needing treatment.
Syrian warplanes have been pounding east Aleppo with air strikes for months -- often using crude munitions like barrel bombs -- but as the ground advance has gathered pace the army has instead turned to more precise artillery.
The latest attacks brought the civilian toll of the government's offensive to more than 300 civilians, including 42 children, since November 15.
Retaliatory rocket fire by the rebels on government-held areas has killed 48 civilians, according to the Britain-based Observatory, which has a wide network of sources on the ground.
Thousands of people have sought refuge in the remaining rebel-held neighbourhoods in southeastern Aleppo, arriving with overpacked suitcases or sometimes just the clothes on their backs.
Another 50,000 have poured out into territory controlled by government forces or local Kurdish authorities, according to the Observatory.
More than 300,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests, before spiralling into a civil war.
The loss of east Aleppo -- a rebel stronghold since 2012 -- would be the biggest blow to Syria's opposition in more than five years.
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