More than 50,000 civilians have joined a growing exodus from east Aleppo, a human rights monitor has said, as the UN security council prepares to hold emergency talks on fighting in the Syrian city. Before the UN meeting in New York, the French foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, met the head of the Aleppo local council, Brita Hagi Hasan. Syria’s Red Crescent is offering assistance in government-held areas but does not yet have access to east Aleppo. On Wednesday morning, 21 civilians including two children were killed in government artillery fire on the Jubb al-Qubbeh district in east Aleppo, the observatory said. Photograph: Abdalrhman Ismail/ReutersThe monitor said nearly 300 civilians, including 33 children, had been killed in east Aleppo since the latest government assault began on 15 November.

Source: The Guardian November 30, 2016 12:23 UTC