GENEVA, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Russia has told the United Nations it will stop bombing eastern Aleppo for 11 hours a day for four days, but that is not enough to trigger a wider deal to have militants leave the besieged Syrian warzone, the United Nations said on Thursday.
U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said he welcomed the daily pauses to enable medical evacuations but the ceasefire package also required militants from the banned Jabhat Fateh al-Sham group to agree to leave the city and the Syrian government to guarantee the local administration would remain in charge.
U.N. humanitarian advisor Jan Egeland said he hoped the first of "several hundred" sick and wounded would be brought out on Friday to either government-held western Aleppo or rebel-held Idlib, according to their choice.
Egeland said the U.N. wanted to extend the pauses until Monday and said there was still no deal to get food into the besieged zone, but the U.N. was working round the clock to get the necessary permits from the Syrian government.
(Reporting by Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay) ((tom.miles@thomsonreuters.com; +41 22 733 38 31; Reuters Messaging: tom.miles.reuters.com@reuters.net))
U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said he welcomed the daily pauses to enable medical evacuations but the ceasefire package also required militants from the banned Jabhat Fateh al-Sham group to agree to leave the city and the Syrian government to guarantee the local administration would remain in charge.
U.N. humanitarian advisor Jan Egeland said he hoped the first of "several hundred" sick and wounded would be brought out on Friday to either government-held western Aleppo or rebel-held Idlib, according to their choice.
Egeland said the U.N. wanted to extend the pauses until Monday and said there was still no deal to get food into the besieged zone, but the U.N. was working round the clock to get the necessary permits from the Syrian government.
(Reporting by Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay) ((tom.miles@thomsonreuters.com; +41 22 733 38 31; Reuters Messaging: tom.miles.reuters.com@reuters.net))
