At about the same time, Russia, Syria’s staunchest ally, announced the creation of safe corridors to allow civilians to leave besieged areas of Aleppo city. The amnesty comes as the government declared its complete encirclement of rebel-held areas of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and one-time industrial powerhouse. Meanwhile, Usama Taljo, a member of the opposition’s Aleppo City Council, denied any passage had been open. A spokesman for Ahrar al Sham, a hardline Islamist faction, used one word to describe the offer: "Meaningless," he said in an interview on social media. “If civilians aren’t even thinking of handing themselves over, how would any rebel do so and give up their arms?

Source: Los Angeles Times July 28, 2016 17:20 UTC