Aleppo’s terrified women ‘kill themselves to escape rape by Assad’s troops’ as ceasefire collapses in blitzed city
Syrian forces are also 'hitting buildings with airstrikes and then firing on rescuers who come to help'
MOTHERS and daughters in war-torn Aleppo are taking their own lives instead of face rape at the hands of forces loyal to tyrannical Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, it has been reported.
Rebel leader Abdullah Othman claims the women were so scared of a looming victory for the Syrian government - backed by key ally Russia - after a cease-fire deal collapsed that they killed themselves.
Othman, the head of the Consultative Council in the Levant Front, said: "This morning 20 women committed suicide in order not to be raped."
His account could not be independently verified.
There have also been unconfirmed reports that a terrified nurse trapped in the ravaged city killed herself and left a note saying: "I do not want several members of the Assad Regime to savour raping me."
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US journalist Bilal Abdul Kareem claims that regime forces are launching air strikes on a location - then targeting rescuers who rush to the scene.
He told : "The air strikes are relentless. They operate using a 'double tap' method that is designed to kill any Good Samaritans who come to the aid of the injured.
"They strike once then wait a while; then, when people gather to try to remove those stuck under the rubble, they strike again."
Finally taking Aleppo will give Syrian President Bashar al-Assad his biggest battlefield victory yet after nearly six years of conflict.
A ceasefire between the pro-government forces and rebels in Aleppo had been reached late on Tuesday, but fighting resumed early today.
Rocket fire has killed seven people in eastern Aleppo as fresh clashes erupt in the city and buses waiting to evacuate civilians and rebel fighters have been returned to depots.
Syrian state television today reported that rebel shelling of the Bustan al-Qasr district, recently recaptured by the army, had killed six people and injured others.
Turkey president Erdogan has said he will hold a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Aleppo later today. He called for a corridor from Aleppo to immediately be opened and for civilians to be allowed to leave.
Lord Ashdown, former Liberal Democrat leader, today said: "There is nothing else that matters in the next 24 hours and 36 hours than those 50,000 people trapped on those four square miles.
"We have got to get them out, and we have got to get them to safety."
The historic city of Aleppo had for years been divided into a government-held west and rebel-held east, with the army leaning heavily on foreign militias and the rebels divided among an array of factions.
And French President Francois Hollande says those trapped in Aleppo should "be evacuated in a dignified and safe manner, under the supervision of international observers and in the presence of humanitarian organisations"
Entire families had gathered in the early hours, in the hope of leaving Aleppo after an agreement announced the night before for rebels to withdraw from the city.
But the first expected departures around 5am local time were delayed and, a few hours later, fierce fighting again began to shake the city.
LIGHTS OUT FOR ALEPPO
The lights of the Eiffel Tower will be turned off tonight to show solidarity with the people of Aleppo.
Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris, made the announcement on Twitter. The iconic landmark will turn off it's lights at 8pm.
It is far from the first time the tower's lights have been used to make a statement for victims of violence.
The structure was lit up in rainbow colours as a tribute to the victims of the shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando in June. In March it was lit up in the colours of the Belgian flag after the terror attacks in Brussels.
The landmark deal - which would mark the end of opposition resistance in Syria's second city after years of fighting - appeared increasingly precarious as the regime, the rebels, and their foreign allies traded accusations.
The last pocket of rebel-held territory in east Aleppo came under heavy tank fire, said an AFP correspondent in the area, who saw several wounded civilians.
Meanwhile, the US ambassador to the UN has lashed out at the Syrian government, and its allies Russia and Iran, saying they bear the responsibility for the "carnage" in Aleppo.
Speaking during an emergency UN Security Council meeting, Samantha Power used strong language as she addressed her counterparts directly.
"To the Assad regime, Russia and Iran, three member states behind the conquest of and carnage in Aleppo: you bear responsibility for these atrocities," she said.
"Is there literally nothing that can shame you?
"Is there no act of barbarism against civilians, no execution of a child that gets under your skin?"
The Russian ambassador said Ms Power was behaving "like Mother Theresa" and accused the US, UK and France of distributing fake news about the crisis.
Russia, Bashar al Assad's closest ally, has vetoed the last six UN resolutions aimed at easing the dire situation in Aleppo.
WHO IS FIGHTING WHO IN ALEPPO?
REBEL GROUPS
-JABHA SHAMIYA (LEVANT FRONT):
One of the main rebel groups fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in east Aleppo. Jabha Shamiya has received support from Turkey and other states.
There are numerous FSA groups, also including the Fastaqim faction, fighting in northern Syria as part of the nationalist opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Many have received military aid from countries opposed to Assad, notably Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
The faction's Aleppo commander led a new military alliance that rebel groups formed this month in an attempt to better organise their defences against the government's attack. But he was seriously injured soon after.
-AHRAR AL-SHAM:
A hardline Islamist group widely believed to have received backing from Turkey and some Gulf states.
It is an important component of Jaish al-Fatah, an alliance of disparate Islamist groups that made big gains against government forces last year.
Ahrar al-Sham is an influential rebel force, with a strong presence in northwestern Syria around Aleppo and Idlib.
-NOUR AL-DIN AL-ZINKI MOVEMENT:
A rebel group that counts itself part of the FSA umbrella, but has also recently participated in an operations room with the Islamist Jaish al-Fatah coalition.
It has received military support, channeled through Turkey, from states opposed to Assad, including U.S.-made TOW missiles. In July the group said it was conducting an internal investigation after the publication of a video that appeared to show its fighters beheading a child.
-JABHAT FATEH AL-SHAM:
Formerly known as the Nusra Front, the powerful group changed its name to Fateh al-Sham in July and said it was breaking its formal allegiance to al-Qaeda.
It is estimated to have many thousands of fighters in Syria, including foreign jihadists, but the actual number in Aleppo is the subject of great controversy. Rebel groups have always said Fateh al-Sham has little to no significance inside east Aleppo.
Fateh al-Sham and other jihadist groups based outside the city attacked the southern Aleppo outskirts in October, taking part in a failed rebel offensive aimed at breaking the siege on the east in October.
SYRIAN GOVERNMENT TROOPS AND ALLIED FORCES
-SYRIAN ARMY:
The Syrian army is supported by Russian air strikes, local pro-government militias and mostly Shi'ite foreign militias.
Throughout the war, its air force has given it a big advantage over opponents, and the Russian intervention in Syria last year turned the tide in Assad's favour.
Military experts think the army numbered around 300,000 personnel pre-war, but after almost six years of conflict, desertions and defections, its current size is not known.
The army has launched several major campaigns to encourage recruitment, and formed a new corps of volunteers in November to fight alongside its regular soldiers.
-TIGER FORCE:
Pro-Damascus sources say this elite unit of the Syrian army has played a leading role in the ground assaults in rebel-held eastern Aleppo. It is led by Suheil al-Hassan, an army officer who has risen to unusual prominence in the Syrian military.
-HEZBOLLAH:
The Lebanese Shi'ite movement gives allegiance to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Its armed forces have long experience of military action after fighting numerous wars against Israel.
Hezbollah's entry into the Syrian war in 2013 helped stem rebel advances and it has played a significant role in the fighting around Aleppo. More than 1,500 of its fighters have died in Syria since the start of the war.
- OTHER MILITIAS:
Iranian-sponsored Shi'ite militias have come to Syria from countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, to fight on the government's side.
Their manpower has played a critical role in the Aleppo battle and has helped fill the gap in the Syrian army's capacities.
Harakat al-Nujaba, an Iraqi Shi'ite militia fighting in Syria, sent more than 1,000 extra fighters to southern parts of Aleppo in September to reinforce its positions, the group's spokesman said.
A non-Shi'ite militia, the Liwa al-Quds, is made up of Palestinian refugees living in Syria. It took part in some of the army's recent advances in Aleppo.
KURDISH PEOPLE'S PROTECTION UNITS (YPG):
The Kurdish YPG militia is at the heart of a U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State and it controls swathes of the north, where Kurdish groups associated with the militia have set up local government councils since the start of the war.
In and around Aleppo, the YPG has clashed with nationalist Syrian Arab rebels, which have accused it of collaborating with the government. The YPG has denied this accusation.
The YPG has mostly avoided conflict with the Syrian government, despite tensions flaring at some points. It controls the Sheikh Maqsoud district in northeast Aleppo.