The UN General Assembly on Friday demanded an immediate ceasefire in Syria and urgent aid deliveries in a resolution adopted by a strong majority as Syrian forces launched another assault on Aleppo. The measure drafted by Canada passed by a vote of 122 to 13 in the 193-nation assembly, with 36 abstentions. Russia, Iran and China opposed the resolution. The vote came as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces carried out more air raids on Aleppo and the United Nations reported that hundreds of men had gone missing after fleeing the battered city. "This is a vote to stand up and tell Russia and Assad to stop the carnage," US Ambassador Samantha Power told the assembly ahead of the vote. "This is a vote to defend the bedrock principles of how states should act, even in war." Power appealed to Syria and its allies to allow civilians to leave eastern Aleppo and give rebel fighters safe exit from the city. "Do not send them to be tortured in regime prisons," she said.
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