UN seeks safety assurances as Russian, Syrian jets pause strikes

Russian and Syrian warplanes on Tuesday halted their airstrikes on Syria’s besieged city of Aleppo in preparation for a temporary truce that Moscow has announced for later in the week, the Russian defense minister said. 
According to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the halt in the strikes should help pave way for militants to leave the eastern rebel-held parts of the contested city.
Both Russian and Syrian air raids on Aleppo were suspended on 10 a.m., Shoigu said, describing the suspension as a precursor for the opening of humanitarian corridors for the rebels to leave Aleppo on Thursday, for when Moscow has announced a “humanitarian pause” between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to allow civilians and militants safe passage out of the city.
At that time, Russian and Syrian militaries will desist from any offensive actions. Syrian rebels, including Al-Qaeda militants, as well as the wounded and the sick will be allowed to leave to the neighboring rebel-held province of Idlib.
“The early halting of airstrikes is necessary to declare a ‘humanitarian pause’,” Shoigu said in a televised statement. “It will ... guarantee a safe exit of civilians through six corridors and prepare for the evacuation of the ill and the wounded from the eastern part of Aleppo.”
He added that Moscow is “asking the countries wielding influence with the rebels in the eastern part of Aleppo to persuade their leaders to end fighting and leave the city.”
Shoigu added that the Syrian troops would pull back to distances allowing unimpeded exit for those carrying weapons via two corridors, including the main artery of Castello Road.
Asa’ad Al-Zu’abi, a senior member of the Syrian opposition, told Arab News that the cease-fire came as result of the international pressure and that Saudi Arabia played a vital role in that.
He lamented that the Free Syrian Army has not received any sophisticated weapons to change the military balance on the ground. “The US still rejects sending advanced weapons to the Syrian opposition fighters,” he said.
“Western countries stress the importance of the exclusion of Islamic groups from the Syrian opposition as a condition to send powerful weapons. However, these countries ignore the fact that Iran sends its fighters to Aleppo to kill innocent people,” he pointed out.
“All these international meetings do not discuss sending international observers from the EU and Arab states to Aleppo to ensure that the Assad regime doesn’t exploit the cease-fire to enhance its military presence in Aleppo,” he said.
The Russian initiative also should boost talks between military experts from several nations that are set to open in Geneva on Wednesday, he added.
“Their work will be aimed first of all at separating the ‘moderate opposition’ from the terrorists and its withdrawal from the eastern part of Aleppo,” he said. Russia, like the Syrian government, refers to militants in the Syrian conflict as “terrorists.”
The UN hailed the announcement, but said it was waiting for safety assurances from all sides before going in with aid.
"We remain of course pleased if there is a reduction in fighting ... because it will protect civilians," Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency, told reporters.
But he stressed that "when the weapons fall silent, we need all weapons to fall silent," before "critical humanitarian assistance can be provided to the area and the sick and the wounded can be evacuated."
"We need to have assurances from all parties to the conflict. Not just a unilateral announcement that this will happen," he said, without revealing if the UN had received security assurances from any of the sides in the conflict.
Separately, Syria’s first lady Asma Assad said she rejected multiple offers to flee the war-ravaged country with her children, according to an interview with broadcaster Russia24 aired on Tuesday.
The comments were part of the British-born Assad’s first interview with international media since Syria’s revolt erupted in 2011 with demands for her husband Bashar’s ouster. “I never thought of being anywhere else at all. ... Yes, I was offered the opportunity to leave Syria, or rather to run from Syria,” the 41-year-old said.
“These offers included guarantees of safety and protection for my children, and even financial security.”
“It doesn’t take a genius to know what these people were really after. It was never about my wellbeing or my children — it was a deliberate attempt to shatter people’s confidence in their president,” she said.
The mother-of-three has stood at her husband’s side in his rare public appearances, posing for selfies with supporters.

Source: Arab News