Russia Announces Brief Cease-Fire in Aleppo to Begin Thursday

The Syrian military and their Russian allies will briefly suspend their bombing of Aleppo on Thursday, the Financial Times reported.

The bombardment will stop for eight hours to allow both rebels and civilians to evacuate, according to the Russian defense ministry. Nearly 275,000 people are besieged in the rebel-held parts of eastern Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Russia is not considering a complete cease-fire because it would allow armed opposition groups to “regroup and restore their military capability,” said Lieutenant-General Sergei Rudskoy, an official at the Russian defense ministry.

The halt in bombardment is “first and foremost so that civilians can move freely, for the evacuation of the sick and wounded, and also for the removal of rebels,” Rudskoy said.

An eight-hour cease-fire may not be enough to deliver aid to besieged civilians, said Federica Mogherini, the European Union policy chief.

“For sure, it’s a positive step. But, again, the last assessment we had from the U.N. agencies was that 12 hours were needed. Anything that could alleviate the humanitarian suffering – the catastrophe that we’re seeing in Aleppo – would be urgent and needed,” she said.

The eight-hour halt in bombardment will coincide with an E.U. leader summit on Thursday, where Syria is expected to be discussed. Some European powers have pushed for E.U. sanctions on Russia over the bombing of Aleppo.

Airstrikes on Aleppo Kill 47

At least 47 people were killed in Syrian and Russian airstrikes on rebel-held parts of Aleppo city in the past 24 hours, Al Jazeera reported.

First responders from the Syrian Civil Defense said 14 members of one family were among those killed in airstrikes on the Marjeh and Qaterji neighborhoods in eastern Aleppo. Five of those killed were children, according to the United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Rescuers continue working on freeing 20 people still stuck under the rubble.

At least 448 people have died in Russian and Syrian airstrikes on eastern Aleppo since a U.S.- and Russian-brokered cease-fire failed last month, according to SOHR.

The U.S. has called for a war crimes investigation of Syria and Russia’s actions in Aleppo, and suspended talks with Russia that could have led to military cooperation in Syria. A meeting in Switzerland hosted by the U.S. and including Russia and regional powers ended on Saturday without any joint agreements. The White House has repeatedly rejected military action against the Syrian government.

“President Obama has not taken any options off the table at this point in time. So we’ll see where we are in the next few days in the context of the discussions we’re having,” said U.S. secretary of state John Kerry.

Turkey Says It May Collaborate With U.S. for Operations in Raqqa

On Tuesday, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey and the U.S. are debating a joint operation in Raqqa, the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Syria, according to Anadolu, Turkey’s state-affiliated news agency.

U.S.-led coalition airstrikes killed 20 militants from the so-called Islamic State in the past 24 hours, Reuters reported.

Airstrikes also destroyed two ISIS defensive positions and three vehicles, according to a statement from the Turkish military. Turkish warplanes destroyed several ISIS targets in separate airstrikes as well, the military said.

Ankara launched Operation Euphrates Shield, targeting jihadists near its shared border with Syria, two months ago.

Recommended Reads

• Brookings: A Syrian Deadlock for Years to Come
• Carnegie: Syria in Crisis: Constructively Ambiguous
• The Wall Street Journal: E.U. Push on Russia, Syria to End Aleppo Bombing
• Bloomberg: Russian Investors Weigh Syria Penalties as Credit Risk Climbs
• Buzzfeed News: ISIS Just Lost Its Spiritual Capital to the Syrian Rebels