Syrian government forces and their allies have captured the Tariq al-Bab district of eastern Aleppo, the government and the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
The advance on December 3 means that the government has retaken about 60 percent of eastern Aleppo from antigovernment rebels and has reestablished control of a key road between the government-held western part of the city and Aleppo’s airport, which the government also holds.
Meanwhile, in Moscow on December 3, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov sharply criticized the United Kingdom for not providing aid to civilians in the beleaguered city.
“Over the years of the war in Syria, the United Kingdom has not provided a gram of flour, a tablet of medicine, or a single blanket to help civilians,” he said.
Konashenkov’s comments come one day after a spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May was quoted as saying Russia was hampering the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Aleppo.
According to the British government’s website, the United Kingdom has provided almost $3 billion worth of crisis aid to Syria since 2012, primarily through allocations to UN agencies and other “implementing partners.” The program has included more than 16 million “monthly rations” of food and nearly 4 million medical consultations for civilians in Syria.