The U.N. special envoy for Syria has countered claims by Syrian President Bashar Assad that most civilians in the eastern part of the city of Aleppo want to leave the rebel-held area.
Staffan de Mistura also insisted a unilateral cease-fire in Aleppo announced by Russia that was underway on Thursday aims only to allow medical evacuations and is not part of a broader plan that he has laid out for the besieged northern city.
In an interview with Swiss broadcaster SRF broadcast Wednesday, Assad claimed "the majority" of civilians wanted to leave eastern Aleppo and alleged "the terrorists" would shoot them or kill their families if they tried to flee.
De Mistura countered that, telling reporters in Geneva that people in eastern Aleppo "want to stay in their places, but they do request the stop to bombing."
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