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Russia says Aleppo combat suspended, residents say no let-up

In this Monday, Dec. 5, 2016 file photo, smoke rises following an air strike hits insurgents positions in eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo, Syria. Aleppo shakes with explosions and gunfire day and night in both the government and rebel sides. But for supporters of President Bashar Assad at least, there is comfort in the growing sense of imminent victory in the city. A rebel defeat in Aleppo, Syria's largest city and former commercial center, is likely to reverberate across the war-torn country, where opposition forces continue to hold out in smaller, more disconnected areas. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
In this Monday, Dec. 5, 2016 file photo, smoke rises following an air strike hits insurgents positions in eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo, Syria. Aleppo shakes with explosions and gunfire day and night in both the government and rebel sides. But for supporters of President Bashar Assad at least, there is comfort in the growing sense of imminent victory in the city. A rebel defeat in Aleppo, Syria's largest city and former commercial center, is likely to reverberate across the war-torn country, where opposition forces continue to hold out in smaller, more disconnected areas. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

By Associated Press 5 min read

BEIRUT (AP) – Russia said the Syrian army was suspending combat operations in Aleppo late Thursday to allow for the evacuation of civilians from besieged rebel-held neighborhoods, but residents and fighters reported no let-up in the bombing and shelling campaign on the opposition’s ever-shrinking enclave.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking in Germany after talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, said military experts and diplomats would meet Saturday in Geneva to work out details of the rebels’ exit from Aleppo’s eastern neighborhoods, along with civilians who were willing to leave the city.

Lavrov said the Syrian army suspended combat action late Thursday to allow some 8,000 civilians to leave the city in a convoy spreading across a five-kilometer (three-mile) route. However, opposition activists said there was no halt to the government offensive.

“Battles are intense,” said a message from a rebel operation room shared with The Associated Press. Other residents reported warplanes firing from machine guns at rebel positions and artillery shells falling in the remaining rebel-controlled districts.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said the U.S. was focused on de-escalating the violence in Aleppo to allow aid into the city and enable people wishing to stay in their homes to do so.