Al-Assad Supports Independent Red Cross, Syrian Army To Regain Aleppo within 10 Days
Red Cross chief Peter Maurer met Tuesday Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on a mercy mission.
"Maurer's mission will focus on increased humanitarian needs and to remind the
belligerents of their obligation under international law related to the protection of civilians in particular," said International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) spokeswoman in Damascus Rabab Rifai.
According to the Syrian state TV, al-Assda declared during the meeting his support for the Red Cross if it remains "independent and impartial ".
Making his first visit to Syria since being appointed as ICRC head on July 1, Maurer is stated to meet senior Syrian officials, including Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, Rifai said, but gave no timings.
The plight of civilians was at the forefront of the ICRC mission to Syria, Maurer said in a statement issued on Monday in Geneva.
"At a time when more and more civilians are being exposed to extreme violence, it is of the utmost importance that we and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent succeed in significantly scaling up our humanitarian response," the ICRC chief said.
His talks with Syrian officials would largely deal with the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria, as well as the difficulties the ICRC and the Red Crescent face as they try to reach people affected by the armed conflict, the statement said.
This comes as a senior commander in charge of the regime offensive on Aleppo told AFP that the army would recapture the city from the rebel forces "within 10 days."
"Some 3,000 troops were involved in the fight against about 7,000 terrorists," said the general, adding that "2,000 of the insurgents had been killed since the assault on Aleppo was launched at the start of August."
In the capital Damascus, fighting broke out in the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp early Tuesday between members of the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) and rebel fighters, the Observatory said.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org
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