World watching ‘last steps’ of Aleppo battle: UN envoy

The world is watching “the last steps” in the battle for Aleppo and evacuating civilians must be a top priority, the UN’s Syria envoy said in comments released Saturday.

Staffan de Mistura also suggested that those fleeing the shrinking rebel territory in eastern Aleppo should be placed “under UN monitoring”, according to a transcript of his interview with Sky News Arabia, released by his office in Geneva.

“We are watching with concern the last steps of what will be called in history the ‘Battle for Aleppo’,” he was quoted as saying.

He noted UN reports that those fleeing rebel-controlled areas into government territory may have been detained or subjected to reprisal violence.

Closed-door talks taking place in Geneva on Saturday between US and Russian technical experts should aim to secure “the protection of the people who want to leave eastern Aleppo”, he said in the interview.

“This is the priority, evacuation of civilians,” he added.

But he also called for “an organised evacuation process for the (opposition) fighters” so the violence could be halted before Aleppo is totally destroyed.

And the UN envoy called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to use his likely impending military victory in Aleppo to re-engage with UN-brokered peace talks on bringing the conflict to a permanent close.

“It is possible to consider a military victory (in Aleppo) but it will not be the end of war.

“And now it is an opportunity for President Assad to indicate his willingness to seriously discuss a political process and for the opposition to come to the table, and the UN is ready for that,” he told Sky News Arabia.

At separate talks with Western powers in Paris on Saturday, the Syrian opposition said it was willing to resume negotiations with Assad “without pre-conditions.”