Exodus continues as Syrian regime, Russian forces tighten Aleppo grip

The UN humanitarian aid agency estimates that 31,500 people have been displaced in opposition-held parts of Aleppo, Syria, over the last week, saying some have reportedly been killed or detained trying to enter government-held areas. 
The Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says the situation has deteriorated in eastern Aleppo since Nov. 24, after pro-government forces took control of some areas.
OCHA says a total of 26,500 people fled to government-held Jibreen, east of Aleppo, and Kurdish-held Sheikh Maqsoud. Another 5,000 were displaced within east Aleppo.
Spokesman Jens Laerke on Friday cited reports that some men and boys trying to enter regime-controlled western Aleppo had been detained.
OCHA cited reports that 45 people had died in shelling Tuesday in east Aleppo’s Jub Al-Quby neighborhood while trying to reach regime-held areas.
The Russian military says the Syrian regime has taken over a city just outside of the capital after an opposition retreat.
The military’s Center for Reconciliation in Syria said the government took full control of Khan Al-Shih just southwest of Damascus Thursday. It said that opposition groups that had controlled the town since 2012 left it this week under a deal with authorities.
It said in Friday’s statement that 1,846 opposition fighters and 1,164 of their relatives had moved to the opposition-held city of Idlib in northern Syria in buses provided by the government. It said another 100 opposition fighters and 300 members of their families will depart for Idlib in the coming days.
Russia-backed Syrian government forces also have won significant gains in the eastern part of Aleppo.
The Russian military is criticizing the United Nations for dragging its feet on delivering humanitarian aid to the areas of Aleppo, which have been recently seized by regime forces.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov claimed that the Russian military has been the only source of food, medicine and other supplies for 90,000 residents of Aleppo’s neighborhoods seized by the regime army this week.
In Friday’s statement, Konashenkov called on Jan Egeland, a senior UN aid official for Syria, to move faster to provide aid to the area.
The US-led coalition has, meanwhile, confirmed that July airstrikes in northern Syria near Manbij killed 24 civilians who were mixed in with Daesh militants. The total is far fewer than the more than 50 dead initially reported by Syrian opposition activists.
Results of the strikes were released Thursday as part of a larger report that concluded a total of 54 innocent civilians were killed in seven airstrikes since March.
The 24 civilians were killed in two villages near Manbij, and their deaths came amid intense fighting, including a wide ground offensive, to retake the northern city from militants. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at the time that at least 56 civilians were killed, but estimates varied wildly, and other groups put the number as high as 200.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said in Rome he has exchanged “ideas” with his Russian counterpart on how to stop the fighting in Aleppo. He said the ideas will be tested in follow-up discussions next week. He didn’t elaborate.
After meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Friday in Rome, Kerry said “nobody is waiting for the next administration” in the US.
He said though the two countries back opposing sides in Syria’s civil war, they agree Syria’s situation is urgent. But he said “we have to wait and see” if diplomacy makes an impact.
Kerry said US and Russian diplomats will hold technical talks in Geneva early next week.
Then Kerry and Lavrov will meet on the sidelines of a conference in Hamburg, Germany, on Wednesday.

Source: Arab News