UN envoy in Syria to seek Aleppo truce

A UN envoy arrived in the Syrian capital yesterday for talks with the regime to try to finalise a deal to freeze fighting in the war-ravaged second city of Aleppo.

Staffan de Mistura visited Damascus as the army and pro-regime fighters regained territory in southern Syria from forces opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.

De Mistura "hopes to set in motion as soon as possible his project" to halt fighting in Aleppo for six weeks, said a member of his delegation who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The envoy has met government officials and opposition chiefs in recent weeks to promote his plan for a temporary truce in Aleppo in order to move aid into the northern city.

Once Syria's commercial hub, Aleppo has been devastated by fighting that began in mid-2012, and the city is now split between loyalist forces and rebels