"We have made a decision on [the introduction of] the humanitarian pause in Aleppo and prohibited flights of Syrian and Russian aviation and this prohibitions are still in force. But the terrorists from the Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham have threatened the civilians, who wanted to leave Aleppo and to use [opportunities provided by] the ceasefire. We have introduced a humanitarian truce, but the civilians were not able to use it," Muallem told journalists after a bilateral meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Since 2011, Syria has been engulfed in a civil war, following the protests that had turned violent, as part of the so-called Arab Spring. During the conflict, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed and millions more have been displaced.
Last Thursday, Russia introduced a humanitarian pause in Aleppo, which ended on Saturday, to ensure the safe evacuation of unarmed militants and civilians from the city’s eastern districts through designated corridors. The terrorists based in the city attacked civilians as they tried to flee Aleppo during the humanitarian pause.