UN Security Council to vote Monday on Aleppo observers: diplomats

Russia warns it would use its veto to block a French-drafted resolution on sending UN staff to war-torn city

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) –The UN Security Council will vote Monday on a new draft resolution on sending observers to Aleppo after France agreed to take into account Russian concerns in its proposals, diplomats said.

“We expect to vote unanimously for this text tomorrow at 9 a.m.,” (14:00 GMT) said US Ambassador Samantha Power.

Russia, on Sunday, warned it would use its veto to block a French-drafted resolution on sending UN observers to Aleppo, setting up yet another showdown with the West over the fate of the besieged Syrian city.

Moscow presented a rival draft resolution during a closed-door meeting of the Security Council that requests that the United Nations make “arrangements” to monitor the situation, according to the text seen by AFP.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power attends a UN Security Council emergency meeting on the situation in Syria, at UN Headquarters in New York, September 25, 2016. (AFP Photo/Bryan R. Smith)

But the Russian proposal makes no specific mention of sending observers to Aleppo, where the evacuation of civilians from the last rebel-held part of the city was set to resume on Sunday. Gunmen attacked buses sent to evacuate people from two pro-regime villages in northwest Syria on Sunday, but a senior military source said the incident should not disrupt parallel evacuations from Aleppo.

“We believe quite simply that what they are proposing is unworkable and dangerous,” Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters about the French proposal.

“We cannot allow it to pass because this is a disaster,” said Churkin ahead of the meeting.

Russia, Syria’s main ally in the nearly six-year war, has vetoed six resolutions on Syria since the conflict began in March 2011.

France circulated a draft text late Friday stating that the council is “alarmed” by the worsening humanitarian crisis in Aleppo and by the fact that “tens of thousands of besieged Aleppo inhabitants” are in need of aid and evacuation.

The measure would task UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with deploying UN staff to Aleppo to monitor evacuations and report on the protection of civilians who remain in the city.

Syrian forces this week moved to assert full control over the east of the city, which had been held by opposition fighters since 2012.

Smoke and flames rise from buildings in Aleppo's southeastern al-Zabdiya neighborhood following government strikes on December 14, 2016, after a deal to evacuate rebel districts of the city fell apart. (AFP Photo/Stringer) — Smoke and flames rise from buildings in Aleppo’s southeastern al-Zabdiya neighborhood following government strikes on December 14, 2016, after a deal to evacuate rebel districts of the city fell apart. (AFP Photo/Stringer)

Evacuations that were halted on Friday were expected to resume Sunday under a new deal that would allow civilians and fighters in four other besieged towns to leave.

Hundreds of civilians, including scores of children, have died in east Aleppo during the latest round of fighting. Nationwide, more than 310,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict began.