Russia wants to discuss the idea of setting up four humanitarian corridors to eastern Aleppo to allow in aid and to evacuate the estimated 400 sick and wounded needing treatment, the United Nations says.
Jan Egeland, head of the UN-backed humanitarian task force in Syria, made the announcement in Geneva on December 1 at a joint press conference with UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura.
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Egeland said food for 150,000 people could be taken from Aleppo’s government-controlled western districts into rebel-held eastern areas within an hour.
De Mistura said some 27,000 have fled Aleppo’s eastern districts during the current offensive by the Syrian government, taking the total number of displaced people in the city to 400,000.
Earlier, the UN humanitarian affairs chief Stephen O'Brien warned that Aleppo risks becoming "one giant graveyard," amid intense fighting between pro-government forces and rebels.
O'Brien issued the warning on November 30 as the UN Security Council met for an emergency session to address the desperate situation in the northern Syrian city.
Speaking via a video conference from London, O'Brien appealed for action to stop the fighting.
He said the warring sides in the conflict had "systematically disregarded" the laws of war and were willing to do anything to gain military advantage.
Government forces have retaken more than one-third of the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo since the weekend.
O'Brien said some 25,000 people had been displaced from their homes by the fighting and predicted thousands more will flee in the coming days as Syrian forces step up their offensive.
He said there was no longer any properly functioning hospital in eastern Aleppo.
He also warned that most of the people trapped there don't have the means to survive much longer.