"Clearly, I cannot deny — this is a military acceleration and I can't tell you how long eastern Aleppo will last… There is a constant increase of movement on the military side," Mistura told the European Parliament.
Earlier in the day, Russian Defense Ministry said that Syrian government forces have cleared practically half of Aleppo from militant strongholds, liberating some 80,000 residents, tens of thousands of them children.
The situation in Aleppo has been deteriorating steadily over the recent months. Thousands of citizens are believed to be trapped in the terrorist-besieged eastern parts of Aleppo with no access to food or water. There have been several attempts to establish a ceasefire, however the bids have failed.
Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting the Syrian opposition groups striving to overthrow President Bashar Assad. In parallel, Damascus has to counter numerous extremist groups, in particular, Daesh — a terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other counties.
