"What is happening in Aleppo is terrible, it is a humanitarian disaster. The calls for help, which the remaining few doctors left there are sending, are deeply upsetting. Therefore, a ceasefire for three hours a day, which was suggested by President [of Syria Bashar] Assad and his ally Russia are in no case sufficient… According to the United Nations, we need at least 48 hours every week and it is only the very first small step that Russia and the Syrian leadership must ensure," Merkel told the Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung newspaper in an interview.
On August 18, the Russian Defense Ministry welcomed a proposal brought forward by UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura for a 48-hour pause in fighting in Aleppo, and expressed readiness to implement next week the first 48-hour humanitarian pause to supply the city with aid as a pilot project. On Monday, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'Brien said that the United Nations welcomes Russia's commitment to a 48-hour ceasefire in Syria's Aleppo but needs more assurances from other parties before it can bring humanitarian aid into the besieged areas of the city,
In mid-August, Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said that between 250,000 and 275,000 people were trapped in eastern Aleppo following the July closure of Castello Road amid heavy fighting in the area.
Aleppo has been under siege by militant groups, including as Jaish al-Islam, Ahrar ash-Sham and Jabhat Fatah al Sham, formerly known as Nusra Front, classified as terrorist organization in Russia.
