Pope begs for immediate ceasefire in Syria
Pope Francis appealed on Wednesday for 
an immediate ceasefire in Syria, calling for “at least” a truce enabling
 civilians, especially children, to be evacuated, after Aleppo came 
under fierce air assault.
“I want to underline and reiterate my 
closeness to all the victims of the inhumane conflict in Syria,” he said
 at his weekly  audience in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican.
“It is with a sense of urgency that I 
renew my appeal, begging those responsible, with all my strength, for an
 immediate ceasefire to be imposed and respected at least long enough to
 consent the evacuation of civilians, especially children, who are still
 trapped under the ferocious bombardments,” he said.
On Tuesday, regime ally Russia carried 
out its heaviest air strikes in days on Aleppo, killing 25 civilians 
including four children according to a monitor, and causing massive 
damage in several residential areas of the city’s rebel-held east.
Syria’s army announced a bid last month to retake the city, which has been divided since mid-2012.
The assault began after the collapse of a
 short-lived truce negotiated by Washington and Moscow, and has seen the
 besieged east of Aleppo come under fierce aerial assault.
Syrian army said last Wednesday it would
 reduce its bombardment, after days of attacks that killed hundreds of 
people and destroyed the largest remaining hospital in the east, but 
heavy bombing began again on Tuesday.

 
 
 
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