A general view shows the damage inside the Umayyad mosque, in the government-controlled area of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 13, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki
PARIS: France wants United Nations observers to supervise the evacuation of civilians from the besieged city of Aleppo and prevent the killing of opposition rebels, Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Wednesday.
Ayrault cited uncertainty and "total confusion" on the ground surrounding the evacuation process.
"France demands [the presence of ] UN observers to have a guarantee that the evacuation of civilians is a priority but also so that the rebels are not massacred," Ayrault told France 2 television.
"Humanitarian organizations such as the Red Cross and UNICEF must also be able to intervene," the minister added.
As a result of a Turkish mediation, the cease-fire took into effect as of 7.00 p.m. local time (1700GMT) on Tuesday.
Under the deal, civilians trapped in the conflict-hit zone will be moved via buses to the western part of Aleppo. Opposition fighters would be evacuated after the civilians.
The past couple of days have seen the Russia-backed Assad regime re-establish control over parts of Aleppo captured four years ago by armed opposition groups.
Numerous civilians were killed by Syrian regime forces in opposition-held areas in eastern Aleppo in the past two days,
Since mid-November, more than 1,130 civilians have been killed in eastern Aleppo in attacks by Syrian regime and Russian warplanes, according to local sources.
Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which had erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.
Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed by the conflict and millions more displaced.
