By Finian Cunningham
Source: Strategic Culture
Hysteria and histrionics at the United Nations Security Council from the three permanent members, the United States, Britain and France, was tantamount to a signed confession. Ironically, one can imagine how the wording of such a «confession» would go: We the intensely vexed members are hereby displaying our boorish displeasure that the terror proxies we covertly sponsor in Syria for regime change are being thrashed.

Such was the tawdry display of undiplomatic conduct by the US, Britain and France, with officials from these countries inveighing against Russia with unsubstantiated, sensationalist accusations of committing war crimes. The intemperance was then followed by tantrums and walk-outs from the Security Council meeting – a meeting that these three members had originally convened.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later lambasted the imperious attitude from the Western trio as an «unacceptable» breach of diplomatic protocol.

During the weekend, the US, Britain and France claimed that Russia was a «partner» with its Syria ally in perpetrating war crimes over the breakdown of the ceasefire that had been declared on September 12.

As usual, it was the American UN ambassador Samantha Power who excelled in the hysteria and histrionics. «What Russia is doing is not counter-terrorism. It is barbarism», declared Power with shrill, puffed up vitriol.

The US official even hinted that she would like to henceforth have Russia sanctioned from Security Council membership. «Russia holds a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. This is a privilege and a responsibility. Yet in Syria and in Aleppo, Russia is abusing this historic privilege».

That’s breath-taking delusional hubris coming from an official of a country that is currently bombing seven countries (Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen) and which has destroyed dozens more over the past decades with millions of civilian deaths.

The British ambassador Mathew Rycroft chipped into the Russia bashing by adding that «the Security Council needs to be ready to fulfill our responsibilities». He blamed Russia for unleashing «hell on Aleppo».

The concerted American, British and French rhetorical offensive against Russia suggests that these three powers are striving for an unprecedented objective. Perhaps, by delegitimizing Russia through a media process of criminalizing, the Western states are intending to over-ride the Security Council’s veto in order to give themselves a mandate for a large-scale military intervention in Syria – under the well-worn guise of «protecting human rights».

Incredibly, the US, British and French – together with the Western news media – continue to blame Russia for an attack on a UN aid convoy in Aleppo last week. Britain’s Foreign Minister Boris Johnson told the BBC that Russia «may have committed a war crime». This allegation is made despite the paucity of any supporting evidence to impute Russia or Syrian forces.

Both Russia and Syria have refuted any involvement in the deadly sabotage, and even the UN aid agencies and Syrian Arab Red Crescent have declined to blame Russia or Syrian forces.

Indeed, the evidence is more indicative of some kind of false flag propaganda incident carried out by the foreign-backed anti-government militants. Suspiciously, the video of the aid convoy attack, which forms the basis of subsequent Western claims, was supplied by the dubious White Helmets, also known as the Syrian Civil Defense. This group works closely with the Al Qaeda-linked Aleppo Media Center and has been involved in fabricating atrocities with which to smear the Assad government forces. Tellingly, the White Helmet «volunteer» who was filmed commenting in the aftermath of the aid convoy attack last week has since been identified by Syrian patriots as an armed militant in one of the al Qaeda-affiliated terror brigades.

We are thus left to deduce that Western allegations of «war crimes» against Russia are not only false; they are terrorist-sourced fabrications that are a being peddled by Western governments and news media in a desperate attempt to slander Russia.

The escalation of Western media claims demonstrates a full-court psychological operation to rail-road the narrative of Syria and Russia being villainous and illegitimate. The preponderance of Western media reports on the renewed fighting around the northern city of Aleppo invariably attribute their source of information as «according to activists». These «activists» could be the White Helmet propaganda artists or the terrorist groups themselves. But Western media and governments are citing these unverified sources for their figures on «civilian deaths» and «banned munitions» allegedly being used by Syrian and Russian air forces. This is taking Western collusion with terrorists to a whole new level.

The recent broadside at the UN from the US, Britain and France is indicative of a coordinated political effort by these powers to hobble Russia’s otherwise successful military intervention in Syria. Not only has Russia’s intervention succeeded militarily in defeating the West’s covert regime-change war by wiping out the terrorist proxies; Russia’s involvement in Syria has succeeded in the international media war by exposing the true culpability of the Western powers in inflicting their dirty war on Syria.

With astounding arrogance, this Western trio is pounding Syria illegally with warplanes over the past two years and have documented covert links to the illegally armed insurgents. In a recent TV interview on France 24 (September 25), Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also confirmed that special forces from the US, Britain and France were operating in northern Syria, purportedly to assist «moderate rebels» to fight against the al Qaeda-type terror groups. This all amounts to a gross violation of Syrian sovereignty by the NATO powers and warrants a legal prosecution for foreign aggression.

The Western media offensive against Russia also comes within a week of American and British warplanes massacring over 62 Syrian army troops at the airbase near Deir ez-Zor, which led to the ceasefire’s collapse two days later.

Yet the West has managed to blackout that war crime after quickly shoving it down the memory hole as an «accident».

American ambassador Samantha Power was incandescent when Russia called for a Security Council emergency meeting over the Deir ez-Zor atrocity on September 17. She disparaged Russian concerns as a «cynical stunt».

As if to avenge Russian audacity to shame the Americans, the US and its Western allies countered with their own «emergency» meeting alleging Moscow’s «war crimes» the following week. But, as noted, the only «evidence» that the West presents is hearsay from anonymous «activists» who are most probably acting as propaganda conduits for terrorist groups.

Syrian ambassador Bashar al Jaafari reminded the UN Security Council that it was his country’s legal and constitutional prerogative to defend the Syrian nation and defeat illegally armed militants on its territory.

Rather than giving the Syrian representative a modicum of respect, the American, British and French officials stormed out of the Security Council meeting – just as American ambassador Power had done the week before when Russia’s Vitaly Churkin was addressing media about the Deir ez-Zor massacre.

Following the latest ceasefire charade in which Western-sponsored «moderate rebels» were conspicuously indistinguishable from terror groups, Syria, Russia, Iran and Hezbollah have every right to launch a renewed offensive to finally bring an end to this foreign-fueled covert war for regime change. The gloves are off. They need to be.

And as the foreign proxy army of terrorist brigades gets wiped out in their last stand at Aleppo, the Western masterminds behind the covert war are becoming increasingly desperate.

The desperation at seeing the regime-change project being lost in Syria could trigger all-out war between NATO powers and Syria’s allies, including Russia. This is a very real danger especially with Turkey, the US, Britain and France expanding military operations in northern Syria.

One thing is for sure though. Washington and its accomplices will step up the media hysteria and defamation against Syria and Russia. Expect more histrionic tantrums at the UN and a barrage of «humanitarian tragedies» – from the three permanent members of the Security Council who brought us the hell of Syria’s catastrophe in the first place.

By Lizzie Phelan
Source: RT
Syria’s civil war continues to claim the lives of innocent civilians, but the deaths aren’t only happening in areas seized by Islamic State. Rebel-shelled eastern Aleppo is also clocking up high numbers of fatalities, a chief autopsy doctor told RT.

The Aleppo office of Dr. Zaher Hajjo is filled with bodies of those who didn’t make it – many of whom are civilian women, children, and men whose lives were lost to the country’s bloody conflict, now in its fifth year.

RT’s Lizzie Phelan traveled to Aleppo to speak to Hajjo, and saw bodies arrive firsthand.

“Today we received nine bodies, civilians that have been killed by shelling by armed groups. Four of them were women, three kids and two men. Six of them were just injured and killed today, and the other three were wounded yesterday of shelling…and they lost their lives today,” Hajjo said.

“In 48 hours, we received 17 civilians that have been killed from the war, killed from the shelling, and almost 50 others wounded.”

But the fatalities aren’t just happening in areas controlled by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). Areas controlled or contested by both terror groups and opposition fighters are suffering a similar fate.

East Aleppo, controlled by the IS-allied group Jabhat al-Nusra, is just as vulnerable to gruesome atrocities, according to Hajjo.

“Between ISIS and Nusra, the victim is the same and the way of killing is the same. For example, last month we received more than 200 bodies and 1,500 injuries, and this month – although we are at the first week – we have [received] tens of killed and wounded people,” Hajjo said.

But other opposition groups are also responsible for senseless civilian deaths, with Hajjo saying that the Free Syrian Army (FSA) – which used to control Aleppo – committed the same kind of killings.

“It was the same. Nothing changed. There is no difference between FSA and Al-Nusra. It’s just a difference of name,” he said.

But although Hajjo knows there are killings taking place every day in eastern Aleppo, he says it’s impossible to know just how many people have been killed there.

“Of course we don’t have statistics from the eastern side, the area under control of armed groups. And I think nobody can have statistics from that area because so many armed groups, many times they will fight each other, they will kill each other, there are so many other crimes there, it’s not just with regards about war. And some areas, some neighborhoods on the eastern side, [there are more] foreigners than locals and often they don’t even announce the foreigners who have been killed, or sometimes they will just put even the fighters with the same statistics as civilians,” Hajjo said.

The Syrian civil war has led to the deaths of at least 250,000 people and displaced more than 12 million since 2011, according to UN figures.

By: Tim Anderson
Source: TeleSur
Looking at a photo of a shell-shocked child, Tim Anderson asks the most important question: “Who took it?”

Within days of appealing for humanitarian help to global audiences, through a picture of injured 4 year old boy Omran Daqneesh, the very same group of ‘jihadists’ in Aleppo were publicly cutting the throat of 10 year old Palestinian boy Abdallah Issa.

The western-backed armed gangs tried to blame Syrian and Russian air raids for Omran’s injuries. However Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the Russian air force “never work on targets within residential areas … [especially not in] al-Qaterji, mentioned by the Western media, as it is adjacent to the exit corridors for locals which were opened in the framework of the Russian humanitarian mission.” Western media ignored the statement.

This is today’s ‘humanitarian war’ and its propaganda. Sectarian mercenaries commit a series of horrific crimes, publicly boast about them, then blame Syrian forces either for those same crimes or for attacking ‘civilians.’ There is no accountability for partisanship and repeated fabrications because of the close links the terrorists enjoy with their sponsor states and embedded media channels, such as al Jazeera and CNN.

The images of little Omran, put out by jihadist support groups, gained widespread attention from the western media, which has backed the sectarian gangs through more than five years of brutal terrorist war. On the other hand, video of the murder of little Abdallah was largely ignored, or scorned with claims that the boy was really 18 years old, or a spy for the pro-Syria Palestinian militia Liwa al-Quds.

The child throat cutters were from a U.S.-armed group Noureddin al Zinki, mostly based in East Aleppo and now under siege from Syrian forces. The U.S. State Department claimed it was considering a ‘pause’ in its support for al-Zinki, pending confirmation of the story.

The principal photographer of Omran was Mahmoud Rslan, according to his social media posts a close friend and admirer of al-Zinki, a self-described ‘media activist’ and member of the U.S.-funded Aleppo Media Centre.

Rslan told U.S. media that U.S. and U.K. funded group ‘The White Helmets’ carried out the rescue of Omran, adding that ‘the tears started to drop as I took the photo’. There is no record of whether he cried when his close friends murdered little Abdallah.

The White Helmets have presented themselves as heroes of the war on Syria, as independent and humanitarian medical rescue workers. In fact, as writer Vanessa Beeley and film-maker Steve Ezzedine have pointed out, the group is closely linked to Jabhat al Nusra, and has participated in sectarian rallies and executions. While the group denies receiving government funds, the U.K. and U.S. government have admitted paying it tens of millions of dollars.

Soon after Rslan’s links to al-Zinki were exposed he removed the pictures of the terrorist group’s flag and ‘martyrs’ from the banner of his Facebook page (now offline). But screen shots of his page show him calling dead al Zinki fighters “martyrs of free information in Aleppo,” while showing pictures of his own “beautiful moments … [with] the frontline heroes who are rolling back Assad.” Apart from the ‘viral’ photo of Omran, video scenes of the supposed rescue were posted online by the Aleppo Media Centre.

What is the Aleppo Media Centre (AMC) and who are these ‘media activists’? According to the shadowy, Washington-based ‘Syrian Expatriates Organization’, it has coordinated and provided technical and financial aid to the AMC since October 2012. The SEO, in turn, receives hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from un-named sources. In its 2014 annual report the SEO lists its main areas of humanitarian and development work as Raqqa, Moaddamia, Idlib and Douma: areas dominated by ISIS, al Nusra and other sectarian killers.

Like many other U.S.-created front groups (The Syrian Campaign, the White Helmets), the SEO is committed to the overthrow of the Syrian Government. That also happens to be the aim of the U.S. Government and its longer standing periphery of ‘embedded’ NGOs, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International (USA).

Petitions from academics and Nobel Prize winners have condemned the ‘revolving door’ for officials who move to and from these groups to the US State Department. Indeed it is notable that the main advocates of this style of ‘humanitarian’ proxy war, as practised against Libya and Syria, come from the ‘liberal’ side of western politics. That is why we see the New York Times and the UK Guardian in the front line of war propaganda against Syria.

Humanitarian intervention also seems to appeal to Amnesty International, which in 1990 backed the false pretexts for the first Gulf War, then supported the false pretexts for NATO’s 2011 bombing of Libya. In 2012 the group praised NATO’s ten year occupation of Afghanistan, with the claim that it was advancing women’s rights. In Syria, Amnesty has consistently misrepresented the proxy war.

Nevertheless, we must admit that the war propaganda of Washington and its allies, designed to confuse and deflect attention from the horrendous crimes of their own proxy armies, has been quite successful. The myths of a ‘civil war’, of ‘moderate rebels’ and of a Syrian Army doing nothing but ‘targeting civilians’ persist. This is despite open admissions from the most senior of U.S. officials that they and their close allies (mainly the Saudis, Turkey and Qatar) have funded every single terrorist group in Syria, specifically to overthrow the government led by President Bashar al Assad. That is not too complicated. Yet admissions and evidence have little to do with the wartime narrative.

The actual character of the war on Syria involves the great powers using the most reactionary forces in the region (sectarian mercenaries, drawing on Saudi-wahhabi ideology) to destroy yet another independent state.

In reality there has really only been one war in the Middle East over the past 15 years. This new ‘great game’ was unleashed by the Bush regime in 2001, trampling Afghanistan and Iraq, stalking Iran, including Israel’s failure to crush Hezbollah and Obama’s destruction of little Libya.

Yet with the growth of the Syrian alliance this great game has hit a wall. A realignment of forces in the region means the plan is set to unravel.

“Tim Anderson is an Australian academic and writer. A Senior Lecturer a the University of Sydney, he researches, writes and teaches in the areas of economic and human development, international cooperation, self-determination and development stategy. Author and co-author of a number of articles and books, including, Land and Livelihoods in Papua New Guinea, and The Dirty War on Syria.“<strong

Source: FarsNews
This latest convoy sent by the Turkish Army comes just 24 hours after at least nine other tanks crossed into Syria to join the Turkish ‘Euphrates Shield’ Operation in Syrian Kurdish regions by Turkish Army’s Special Forces, local sources said.

The deployment of more Turkish tanks into Northern Syria is apparently part of Turkish attempt to increase presence in Northern Syria, followed by Ankara in past couple of days in form of the operation allegedly aimed at driving the ISIL out of the bordering areas around Jarabulus and stopping Kurdish fighters from seizing the territory.

A senior Turkish official was quoted by Reuters as saying that there were more than 20 Turkish tanks inside Syria on Thursday, and that additional tanks and construction machinery would be sent in as required.

“We need construction machinery to open up roads … and we may need more in the days ahead. We also have armored personnel carriers that could be used on the Syrian side. We may put them into service as needed,” the official added.

The Turkish Army with the air support of the US-led coalition launched a military operation on Wednesday to allegedly drive ISIL out of Jarabulus city.

On Wednesday, the Syrian foreign ministry condemned Ankara’s cross-border military operation and entry of Turkish special forces and tanks into Northern Syria.

“Damascus condemns the entry of Turkish army’s tanks into Northern Syria as a blatant violation of its sovereignty,” a Syrian foreign ministry official said on Wednesday.

The Syrian government also reacted to the Turkish officials’ claims that the Turkish troops have entered Northern Syria to fight the ISIL terrorists, and said, “Fighting the ISIL will not be realized by only running the ISIL from Northern Syria and replacing it with other terrorist groups supported by Turkey.”

Also the Russian foreign Ministry said Wednesday that the Syrian crisis can only be resolved through dialogue and on the basis of international law, expressing worry over reports of Turkey’s cross-border attack into Northern Syria.

“Moscow is deeply concerned about what is happening in the Syrian-Turkish border area,” the ministry said, adding that further degradation in the conflict zone and the prospect of Kurdish-Arab ethnic conflict raises alarm.

“We are convinced that the Syrian crisis can be resolved only on the solid basis of international law, through broad intra-Syrian dialogue with the participation of all ethnic and religious groups, including Kurds, and on the basis of the June 30, 2012, Geneva Communique, Resolution 2254 and other UN Security Council resolutions adopted on the initiative of the International Syria Support Group,” the ministry stressed.

Earlier on Wednesday, Ankara had claimed that it had informed Moscow about launching a campaign to liberate Jarablus from the ISIL.

The YPG Kurdish forces and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) had both raced towards Jarabulus to take the city after ISIL started withdrawing from the Northern Aleppo city. But FSA could eventually take hold of the city after the Turkish army incursion and aid.

Meantime, Turkish President President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed on Wednesday that the aim of Ankara’s military operation in Northern Syria is to eliminate threats from both the ISIL and the Kurds.

“We started a military operation in Northern Syria at 4 a.m. this morning, aimed at eliminating the threats posed by Daesh (ISIL) and Syrian Kurds,” President Erdogan said, adding that Turkey intends to put a stop to attacks on Turkish territory from neighboring Syrian regions.

“Turkey is ready to take joint steps both with the international coalition forces and with Russia,” President Erdogan underlined.

By Alex Christoforou
The Duran
Source: SOTT
The US is willing to risk war with Russia to protect Al Qaeda jihadists. The masks are coming off.

The Pentagon today made some big announcements. One, it will protect the Kurds, much to Turkey’s dismay. Two, it will protect Al Qaeda/Al Nusra jihadists, in a last gasp effort to overthrow Assad. Three, the US is gearing up for a full on war with Russia. Be assured, Hillary Clinton will not press the reset button if she becomes President. This is what neocons and the progressive left have been pushing for, and now it seems they will finally get it…war with the multipolar world, and it all starts with Russia.

We begin with Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook saying… “Our warning to the Syrians is the same that we’ve had for some time, that we’re going to defend our forces and they would be advised not to fly in areas where our forces have been operating.”

When pressured by the press to clarify it the US is setting up a “no-fly zone”, Cook responded, “It’s not a ‘no fly zone.'” Pressed some more by the press, Cook conceded… “You can label it what you want.” Asked if this means the US will shoot down Syrian and Russian jets trying to destroy Al Qaeda/Al Nusra and ISIS forces in Syria, Cook said, “If need be we will send aircraft again to defend our forces.”

Defend US forces fighting side by side with the Kurds…and Al Qaeda/Al Nusra?

Asked whether the U.S. policy is to shoot down a Syrian or Russian aircraft if it poses a threat to U.S. troops on the ground, Cook said, “We’re going to defend our forces on the ground, absolutely.”

Now that Aleppo is about to be reclaimed by the internationally recognized government of Syria, against foreign Al Qaeda/Al Nusra invaders, the US is setting up “no-fly” “exclusion” zones, to prevent Syrian forces to fly in their own territory.

The US is willing to risk war with Russia to protect the very people that took down the WTC in 2001. That about sums it up…oh and their is the small little detail of the US working diligently to finally clear a path (any path) for Saudi and Qatar gas to reach Europe via Syrian territory. Always follow the money.

The Ron Paul Institute reports… Pentagon Spokesman Peter Cook was asked numerous times in numerous ways whether this amounts to a US “no fly zone” over parts of Syria. His first response was vague but threatening: “We will use our air power as needed to protect coalition forces and our partnered operations. …We advise the Syrian regime to steer clear of [certain] areas.”

The policy shift was so apparent that, one-by-one, the press corps asked for clarification. Does this mean that the US would shoot down Russian or Syrian planes if they attacked any US-backed partners even if they were engaged against Syrian government forces? Are those “coalition forces” and “partnered operations” receiving US protection against attack from the air always in receipt of that protection, or only when they are actively engaged in military operations? What are the rules of engagement?

There was no clear answer from the Pentagon spokesman. “Is this a ‘no-fly’ zone, then,” asked another reporter. It’s not a “no-fly zone” Cook responded. Another journalist tried to get some clarity: How is telling Syria not to fly in certain areas not a ‘no fly’ zone?”Call it what you will,” Cook eventually said. Another journalist asked, “Do you think the Syrian regime has the right to fly over its own territory?” Same answer: “We will use our air power as needed to protect coalition forces and our partnered operations.”

The anti-Russia rhetoric in Cook’s comments was inexplicable as well. According to the Pentagon spokesman, the suffering in parts of Aleppo is not due to its ongoing occupation by al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front, but rather by Russian and Syrian government attempts to expel Nusra from the city.

Cook’s explanation defied logic. Russian actions in Aleppo are… “…only adding fuel to Syria’s civil war and [do] nothing to degrade extremist groups, which is Russia’s original reason for its military intervention in Syria.”

The sentence only makes sense if one accepts the premise that al-Qaeda in Syria is not an extremist group, as it makes no sense to argue that bombing a certain group does nothing to weaken that group.

Unless the Pentagon is suggesting that Russia and Syria are only bombing the civilian population, presumably for fun? Whatever the case, this is a trial balloon.

If this de facto “no fly zone” becomes a fact on the ground, it will be expanded beyond Hasakah and may be a US last-ditch effort to prevent Syrian government forces, aided by Russia, from taking back Aleppo and thus breaking the back of the foreign-backed insurgency.

This is endgame time.

Via: Ron Paul Institute

Source: RT
Children in government-controlled Aleppo are experiencing heavy fighting on a daily basis, as the opposition try to retake lost ground. While the Western media’s focus is largely on the suffering in rebel-held areas, RT looks at the other side of the story.

RT’s Lizzie Phelan is reporting from one of only two Aleppo hospitals that are now trying to cope with the inflow of those injured in the fighting. Those seeking help include both soldiers and civilians. So many people require treatment that they are filling up the medical facilities’ corridors.

The rebels now have control of three military academies in the south and have intensified their efforts to bring more territories their under control, Phelan explains. They are trying to get access to the southern road into Aleppo, and they fire at civilian targets from there.

Many children are among those injured. Phelan has spoken with two girls badly hurt by shrapnel from missiles fired from rebel held areas in the city’s south.

“My arms, feet, knees, and face are injured,” 11-year-old Alaa said quietly, lying on the hospital bed, covered in bandages, while she added that it is her knee that hurts the most.

“We were just talking, and the next moment it was just like in a dream. Then, I started shouting and heard my parents shouting, too. And I realized that a missile had hit our home. Earlier, we had heard the missile flying overhead from an area near us. But this time it landed right in our house,” she added.

“I’m afraid. I don’t want to return home,” she told RT.

Alaa now says she wants to be a doctor to be able to help those suffering, just like her. She shares that dream with another girl in this same hospital, 12-year-old Faten, who was also wounded in the shelling.

“I was sitting on a balcony with my friends when I heard the sound of a missile coming,” Faten recalls. “The next thing I knew, my arm was broken, and there are still pieces of shrapnel in the other one. I was just playing with my friends when I heard something hit me, and then I realized soldiers were carrying me.”

The increased fighting has seen a surge in displaced people as well. RT’s correspondent visited an area, which hosts those who have been made homeless because of the conflict.

To the right, there are tents of people who were displaced three-four years ago, and still live in those makeshift shelters, Phelan pointed. To the left, live people who recently lost their homes.

The locals say that their plight has become too much to bear.

“Ten days ago, terrorists broke into 1070 apartments. I left my home with only my clothes on. The same thing happened to the neighborhood where I lived before the war broke out. I remember one day I woke up to the noise outside, and saw the heavily armed people with long beards had entered the area. I was afraid for my life, so I took my family and fled,” Aleppo resident Mohamed Khalouf said.

For some, it looks like the hard times are going to last forever.

“We’re all in the same boat here. We desperately need help. We need milk, food, and nappies for our children. The situation here is dire. I gave birth to my daughter here in the street. In three weeks, she will be one year old,” a woman, identified as Fared, told RT.

Some don’t really want to be filmed, but are eager for the world to hear about their hardship.

“We need you to hear us. We have kids born in the streets. How would they be able to go to school, to get an education? To grow up and live normal lives?”

On Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry backed a proposal from the UN’s Syria envoy to carry out 48-hour weekly ceasefires to deliver humanitarian relief to Aleppo residents. The first truce could be held next week.

It comes a fortnight after Russia and Syria started a large-scale operation to open special exit corridors for civilians and those ready to lay down their arms.