Turkish foreign ministry says Aleppo siege ‘unacceptable’

ANKARA

The Aleppo siege is "sorrowful and unacceptable", the Turkish foreign ministry said late Thursday.

In a written statement, it said eastern Aleppo has been under a full blockade for weeks after the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its supporters' conducted intense attacks.

"Airstrikes against Aleppo and targeting civilians and civil infrastructure should be immediately stopped,” the ministry said.

Forcing millions of civilians to live in inhumane conditions in Aleppo and other regions of Syria should be stopped immediately and the safety of people in those regions and access to humanitarian aid should also be provided under UN supervision, it added.

In February, the Syrian regime cut the supply route between Aleppo’s northern countryside and opposition-held eastern neighborhood.

In early July, regime forces moved to cut Castello road, which links the contested city of Aleppo with opposition-held Idlib, imposing a total blockade on opposition-controlled areas in Aleppo.

The European Union on Thursday called for an immediate humanitarian pause in fighting in eastern Aleppo to allow the delivery of medical aid to the Syrian city, ravaged by a civil war, which has entered its sixth year.