The United Nations Security Council will meet on May 4 to discuss the collapse of a cease-fire deal in the northern city of Aleppo, which has become a major battlefield in recent weeks between government forces and opposition fighters -- despite a UN effort to halt the fighting long enough restart indirect peace talks.
France and Britain called for the meeting while Russia said it is pushing to reimpose the shattered cease-fire deal around Aleppo.
French Ambassador Francois Delattre described Aleppo as the "martyred center of the resistance" to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and compared it to Sarajevo during the Bosnian war.
"Aleppo is burning and it is crucial that we focus on this top priority," British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said.
The 15-member council will hear a report from the UN's top political affairs official Jeffrey Feltman about how fighting in Aleppo during the last two weeks -- including air strikes and rocket attacks on hospitals -- has killed hundreds of civilians.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after meeting with UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura in Moscow on May 3 that efforts were under way to agree on a truce in Aleppo.