Beirut — A pause in Russian and Syrian strikes on Aleppo held into a second day on Wednesday, ahead of a brief ceasefire aimed at allowing civilians and rebels to quit the devastated city. The halt came ahead of talks in Berlin between the Russian, French and German leaders on Syria’s five-year conflict. Moscow is backing President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in its war with a wide range of rebel groups, including with airstrikes in the divided northern city of Aleppo. Under growing international pressure over the devastation and civilian deaths caused by strikes, Moscow announced early on Tuesday that Russian and Syrian warplanes would stop bombing rebel-held parts of the city to pave the way for a "humanitarian pause". That window, starting at 5am GMT on Thursday and due to last eight hours, is expected to see all fighting stop to allow civilians and rebels to exit opposition-held districts via six corridors. An estimated 250,000 people live in Aleppo’s eastern districts and have bee...
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