DAVOS (Sputnik) – On Wednesday, Sergei Rudskoy, the chief of the Russian General Staff Main Operational Directorate, said that if militants capture Deir ez-Zor, local civilians would be subject to genocide.
"I am not speculating on the future of Deir ez-Zor or any other city in Syria. There are tens of besieged and hard-to-reach areas in Syria, and we are of the strong opinion that in these areas civilians should be able to leave and humanitarians should be able to enter," Maurer said.
Since July 2014, Deir ez-Zor has been under siege by Daesh, a jihadist group banned in Russia and many other countries.
On Thursday, Jan Egeland, senior adviser to the UN special envoy for Syria, said that the Syrian city had lost its only lifeline, as humanitarian supply deliveries were cut to the town due to the air drop zone being surrounded by Daesh militants.
