Russia calls for Aleppo rebels to leave in Friday truce

Russia has ordered a 10-hour truce on Friday in the Syrian city of Aleppo, calling for rebel groups to leave to “prevent senseless casualties”.

"A decision was made to introduce a 'humanitarian pause' in Aleppo on 4 November from 9am to 7pm," the chief of Russia's general staff, Valery Gerasimov, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Gerasimov said the decision was approved by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Syrian authorities and would allow civilians and armed combatants to quit rebel-held eastern Aleppo. 

It is the latest in a long line of “humanitarian pauses” and offers by the Syrian and Russian governments to allow rebels and civilians to leave. All have been largely ignored.

Gerasimov said eight corridors - six for civilians and two for fighters - could be used for this. 

Rebels launched a major assault last Friday to break the siege of Aleppo but have been met this week by fierce resistance from regime forces.

Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, said on Tuesday that Russia had ceased air attacks on eastern Aleppo for 16 days.

But he accused the US-led coalition of failing to rein in hardline rebels and said that the chances of a political settlement to the crisis was now remote. 

The West has accused Moscow of committing possible war crimes in Aleppo through indiscriminate bombing to support a brutal Syrian government offensive. 

Moscow has been conducting a bombing campaign in Syria in support of long-time ally Bashar al-Assad since September 2015.

More than 300,000 people have been killed since Syria's war devolved from a widespread protest movement against Assad's rule in March 2011 to a multi-front war between rebels, militants, Kurds and government forces and their allies.