It’s too late now to save Aleppo

Rebel-held east Aleppo continues to be blitzed. The Syrian army tightened its grip on rebels besieged in Aleppo with thousands of civilians. The regime and Russian assaults on rebel enclave go unabated even as US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that regime’s ‘indiscriminate bombing’ amounted to crimes against humanity.
US and Russian officials were expected to continue talks in Geneva on trying to reach a ceasefire in Aleppo, but a week of intense diplomatic efforts have failed to stem the fighting. Western powers called for peace talks to resume and for civilians to be allowed to leave Aleppo, where tens of thousands have already fled the offensive.
The three-week-old assault by the Russian-backed regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad aimed at retaking all of Aleppo has triggered mounting international outrage. At the same time, the all-out offensive has tipped the balance in regime’s favour. UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said the world is watching ‘the last steps’ in the Aleppo battle and evacuating civilians must be a priority. Air strikes and regime rocket fire battered the last remaining rebel districts. The strikes were so intense that windows in the west rattled. The streets are full of people under rubble. They are dying there. The indiscriminate bombings have made it impossible for the rescuers to save those trapped under debris of destroyed buildings.
With the fighting intensifying on Saturday after a brief respite, a UN General Assembly resolution demanded an immediate ceasefire and urgent aid deliveries. But both Moscow and Damascus have rejected talk of a ceasefire without a rebel withdrawal—a demand that opposition groups have refused.
Reports are emerging that opposition is willing to resume peace talks ‘without pre-conditions.’ But a diplomatic source said that opposition required a political transition in Syria before it would agree to take part.
There can be no military solution in Syria. There has to be a political process with the credibility necessary for all parties to commit to an end to all the fighting.
The fall of east Aleppo would be the biggest blow for the rebels since the war began in 2011. The virtually inevitable regime victory in Aleppo is imminent. And it will undoubtedly give Assad a comfortable upper hand.
“Aleppo is the real turning point of the war. It’s the equivalent of Stalingrad,” Syria expert Fabrice Balanche said, referring to the Soviet Union’s victory in the Russian city that changed the course of World War II.
Regime troops and allied militia now control at around percent of the one-time rebel stronghold. And with it, the myth of a moderate rebellion in Aleppo capable of representing a political and military alternative seems to be over. Aleppo holds tremendous political importance for the both for rebels and regime. After losing Aleppo, rebels will be largely confined to northwest Idlib and scattered pockets in Damascus and Daraa provinces.
Time is running out for the international community to act and save the innocent lives. Fall of Aleppo seems just a matter of time. The world diplomacy must come out with some solution, and that too a bit fast. There is no time left to sit and wring hands. The time to express outrage is over. Now is the time to act. The UN expressed concern about reports of hundreds of men going missing after fleeing to government-held territory. The regime and Russia have a fundamental responsibility for the safety of people. They have to put guarantees in place that people aren’t marching to their death.