Syria Cuts Off Rebel-Run East Aleppo as 275,000 People Trapped
Syrians inspect the damage after Asad Regime forces' attack on opposition controlled Meshed region in Aleppo, Syria on July 26, 2016.
Photographer: Ibrahim Ebu Leys/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Syrian government forces seized control of the last rebel supply routes into eastern Aleppo city on Wednesday, in what a monitoring group said was their most significant advance in the province since 2013.
The siege of eastern districts of Aleppo, Syria’s former commercial capital, has prompted the United Nations humanitarian chief to call for a weekly 48-hour humanitarian pause as an estimated 275,000 civilians remain trapped. Food supplies could be exhausted by mid-August, he said. The city has been divided between government and opposition forces since 2012, with clashes intensifying in recent weeks.