Quit Aleppo, let civilians out

The Syrian military yesterday urged rebels to pull out of east Aleppo and allow civilians to also leave, as it pressed an offensive to recapture the city's opposition-held sector.

Syrian pro-government forces pushed forward inside rebel-held Aleppo yesterday.

A week into the latest round of fighting for the city, Syrian troops had taken control of a third of the key eastern neighbourhood of Masaken Hanano, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Government troops, backed by Russian and Iranian forces and Lebanon's Shia Hezbollah group, were battling rebels on several fronts inside opposition-held districts, said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Observatory.

The renewed fighting has killed more than 140 civilians in east Aleppo and comes amid international concern for the fate of over 250,000 civilians trapped in besieged rebel-held areas.

But despite condemnation from Washington and the UN, there was little sign that the government advance would be halted.

The army, which has besieged the east for months, also demanded that rebels distribute food to civilians, while calling on residents to cooperate with its advancing troops.

The military airdropped leaflets with a picture of a green coach like those used in the past to transport civilians and rebels from areas retaken by the government.

"To those involved in carrying weapons, we stretch out our hand to you. Reserve your place before it is too late," the leaflets read.

In a separate statement carried by state media, the army accused rebels of using the 250,000 civilians still in the east as "human shields" and demanded they be allowed to leave.

The army also accuses rebels of hoarding food in the east, where aid rations have run out after nearly four months of government siege, and said Tuesday that fighters should distribute rations.

On Monday, UN humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien condemned the use of sieges in Syria, saying nearly one million people across the country were under blockades, most imposed by the regime.

More than 1,000 combatants sent from Iran to fight in support of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria have been killed in the conflict, the head of Iran's veterans' affairs office said yesterday.