Syria’s intense civil war is escalating steadily. Now Syrian rebel factions are proposing a five-day cease-fire for the evacuation of the sick and other civilians from the city of Aleppo. But the Syrian Foreign Ministry won’t approve a cease-fire that doesn't include a complete rebel evacuation from eastern Aleppo.
The Syrian Civil War began in 2011. President Bashar al-Assad’s government has military support from Russia, one of its principal allies. In the past week the Syrian government and its allies have gained control of three-quarters of an area of Aleppo that rebel forces had controlled since 2012.
For years Syria has conducted intense campaigns against its own people. Millions have fled the oppressive Syrian government.
Bombings earlier this week knocked out medical facilities and left civilians in eastern Aleppo reeling.
The rebels’ cease-fire proposal calls for immediate evacuation of 500 seriously wounded Aleppo residents. It also allows for civilians wishing to leave to head to northern rural Aleppo province, where there is almost no government presence.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says Syria's new military offensive backed by Russia is the main reason that so many people, including Russians, are dying in the besieged city of Aleppo.
Stoltenberg said yesterday that "the best way to end that is to support efforts to have a cease-fire as a first step toward a political solution."
Meanwhile, Syrian Brigadier General Zeid al-Saleh says rebels in eastern Aleppo must leave or they will face death.
“When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.” –Proverbs 29:2
