Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? After several collapses, a ceasefire finally appears to be working in Aleppo, the devastated city in war-ravaged Syria. That could the chance the ill-fated people there have been looking for to save themselves.
Sources in the opposition have said that the bombing has stopped, according to an NPR report. However, a lot of people still appear to be stuck in the small area of Aleppo which is still controlled by the anti-regime groups.
The battle for Aleppo, which is continuing for four years now, took a decisive turn in November end when the forces of the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad drove back the rebels. It captured a majority part of the territory which was being held by them since 2012.
Analysts had said then that the rebels were facing a defeat and they could be just a few weeks away from complete rout. Their prediction seems to be true now. Hundreds have been killed since the Russian-backed Syrian forces launched an offensive and rushed into the territory held by the opposition.
The reluctance of the Barack Obama Administration to directly get involved in the Syrian crisis and the regional divide over backing Assad has led to an endless blood-spilling in the country with no solution in sight.
The latest cease-fire has come a day after an earlier effort failed to deliver. On Tuesday (December 13), Russia and Turkey reached an agreement which essentially meant the rebels' surrender. As per the deal, the stranded civilians were supposed to be rescued to safety but the deal collapsed the next day.
As a result, nobody could be evacuated. When the first convoy tried to leave, Iran-backed Shiite militias who are aiding Assad reportedly stopped it. It was suspected that Iran and Syria were not really happy with Russia and Turkey making an agreement between them.
The US Ambassdor to the U.N., Samantha Power, on Tuesday slammed Russia, Iran and the Syrian government accusing them of putting a "noose" around hundreds of thousands of civilians in Aleppo.
