US, other Western powers call for immediate Aleppo ceasefire

7 December 2016, 4:01 pm

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The leaders of the United States and five other Western powers are calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

USPresident Barack Obama is joining with the leaders of Britain, Germany, Italy, France and Canada in a joint statement demanding that Syria’s government address the humanitarian crisis by allowing UN aid in to eastern Aleppo.

Syrian residents fleeing the violence in the eastern rebel-held parts of Aleppo walk past a makeshift barricade made of wreckages of buses as they evacuate from their neighbourhoods through the Bab al-Hadid district after it was seized by the government forces, on December 7, 2016. (AFP/GEORGE OURFALIAN)

They’re accusing Russia of obstruction at the Security Council. The leaders say Russia and Iran claim to want to work toward a political solution but are unwilling.

The leaders want the United Nations to investigate reports that war crimes are being committed in Syria.

The statement comes as several Syrian rebel factions are proposing a five-day ceasefire in the eastern part of Aleppo to allow civilians to be evacuated.

— AP