Hundreds of men “missing” in Aleppo, UN says

PanARMENIAN.Net - Hundreds of men appear to have gone missing after crossing from rebel-held areas of Aleppo into government territory, UN officials say, according to BBC News.

Forces led by Syria's government have seized at least 75% of eastern parts of the city from rebels in recent weeks.

Tens of thousands of civilians have fled those districts, with more than 8,000 leaving during a humanitarian pause on Thursday, December 8.

Rebels were also reportedly stopping people from leaving, the UN said.

At a briefing in Geneva, Rupert Colville, the spokesman for the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, said up to 100,000 people were trapped in "ever-shrinking" areas of eastern Aleppo.

Reports differ on how many people remain and how many have fled eastern Aleppo, but Colville said the UN had gathered evidence that "hundreds" of men may had disappeared after leaving for government-held areas.

"Given the terrible record of arbitrary detention, torture and disappearances, we are of course deeply concerned," he said, referring to the Syrian government.

Some reports cited by the UN say men were separated from families and have now disappeared. Other displaced people reported being taken in for questioning, and having their identity cards confiscated.

Colville also said there had been reports that rebel groups were preventing people from fleeing to safety, and were "using civilians as pawns".

On Thursday, Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said fighting was suspended to allow civilians to leave.

By Friday morning, more than 8,000 people - including 3,000 children - had left, Russia's military said. But fighting would continue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, "until the bandits leave east Aleppo".

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a network of activists monitoring the violence, said ground forces continued their offensive, and that rocket attacks and air raids were launched overnight.