Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad told a Swiss TV station that government forces had to rid the city of Aleppo of rebel “terrorists” under its constitutional mandate to protect the civilian population. “That’s our mission, according to the constitution, according to the law, that we have to protect people, that we have to get rid of those terrorists from Aleppo. “How can you protect them while they are under the control of terrorists? Is it our role to sit aside and watch if that’s how we can protect the Syrian people? We need to attack the terrorists, that’s self-evident.”Read| Russian, Syrian planes halt Aleppo airstrikes ahead of truce

Source: Hindustan Times October 19, 2016 08:48 UTC