WEB DESK
Heavy clashes erupted between regime and rebel forces in city of Aleppo after a unilateral ceasefire announced by Russia expired. Ground clashes and shelling, which had continued throughout the day on frontlines, intensified.
The humanitarian ceasefire began on Thursday, and came after Moscow announced a temporary halt. Moscow had extended the unilateral humanitarian pause into a third day until 1600 GMT yesterday, but announced no further renewal of the truce despite a UN request for longer to evacuate wounded civilians.
Ingy Sedky, spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Syria, said, no civilians were evacuated during the truce. Adding that evacuations were impossible due to the poor security situation in the city. Syrian state media and Russian authorities have accused rebels in the east of preventing civilians from leaving and using them as human shields. More than 2,000 civilians have been wounded since the army launched its offensive to drive the rebels out of the eastern districts they have held since 2012. Nearly 500 people have been killed. About 250,000 to 300,000 civilians are thought to be trapped in eastern Aleppo.