Syrian forces in Aleppo ‘fire on ambulances evacuating injured women and children’ – as UN describes bombings as a ‘war crime’
Three civilians who were already injured were wounded, claims activists
SYRIAN pro-government forces shot at ambulances trying to leave eastern Aleppo, wounding at least three people already injured by the sickening violence overwhelming the city, it has been reported.
Pro-Syrian government fighters opened fire on a convoy as it prepared to leave rebel-held eastern Aleppo during the early stages of an evacuation from the area, the head of the ambulance service in the district said.
"The convoy was shot at by regime forces and we have three injured, one of them from civil defence ... They were brought back to besieged areas," Ahmed Sweid told the pro-opposition Orient TV.
The news comes as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein, said the bombardment by Syrian government forces and their Russian allies "most likely constitutes war crimes".
The Syrian Civil Defense responders posted on social media that two of its members were wounded when government forces fired on ambulances leaving the opposition's remaining sliver of land in Aleppo.
The activist-run group says they were evacuating wounded civilians and rebels as part of an agreement to return the city to government control. The group says one person died and two were wounded but the fatality could not immediately be confirmed.
A Reuters witness in nearby government-held territory heard a burst of gunfire that lasted several minutes.
The Russian military says it's preparing for the rebels' withdrawal from Aleppo.
The military's Center for Reconciliation in Syria says that 20 buses and 10 ambulances are prepared to carry the rebels to Idlib on Thursday.
The center says it's preparing for the rebels' exit together with the Syrian government. It says Syrian authorities have given security guarantees to all rebels willing to leave Aleppo.
The Russian military also says it's monitoring the situation using drones.
A previous attempt to arrange a rebel withdrawal failed Wednesday when a cease-fire deal between the rebels and the Syrian government collapsed, with the government and the rebels blaming each other for its failure.
Yesterday the Russian Embassy in the UK launched an astonishing attack on the UK over its aid efforts in war-torn Aleppo – despite Moscow propping up the regime of the Syrian tyrant responsible for the destruction.
The extraordinary criticism followed a tweet by the Foreign Office repeating Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s claim that: “This Government has sought to reduce the suffering with every diplomatic and humanitarian lever at our command.”
The response from the Russians? “In Aleppo Russia facilitated evacuation of 110K civilians. What has UK done to alleviate their suffering?”