Fresh calls have been made for ceasefire in Syria as the United Nations (UN) on Friday said that around 31,500 people have been displaced from Aleppo as the Syrian government advances into the rebel-held eastern regions of the city this weekend. Fresh reports also state that the Syrian army seized a new rebel district in Aleppo.
Syrian government forces last week had taken six major rebel-held areas in Aleppo, causing more than 10,000 civilians to flee the violence-struck region as the forces pressed for an offensive. Rebels have, for months, been engaged in battle with the Syrian government and their Russian allies in eastern Aleppo, and want to topple the government.
The United Nations in November had proposed a truce for both the sides to terminate the violence by urging the Damascus government to allow eastern Aleppo to be governed by a local administration if some 900 al-Qaeda-linked militants fighting with the rebels leave the city. The Syrian government, however, rejected the proposal citing that it was a matter of state sovereignty to retake the areas.
As the Syrian government forces march into eastern Aleppo, losing the region would cost the opposition its most significant urban presence in Syria. The Syrian forces' advances in the region came with continuous shelling and airstrikes, making the situation in the region worse. Considering the massive displacement in the region, the human rights group and the United Nations have called for a temporary halt in the violence to provide relief and humanitarian access to all those affected in the strikes.
World leaders, including Turkish and German foreign ministers, called for a ceasefire in the region. However, there are no signs whether the call for ceasefire would be materialised anytime soon. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in a joint press conference on Friday said that all hostilities in the region should be ceased "as soon as possible, immediately."
