Russia Says It Extended Air Strike Moratorium In Syria's Aleppo

Russia said it was extending a moratorium on air strikes on Syria's Aleppo into a ninth day, despite reports that air strikes have continued in recent days.

Sergei Rudskoi, a senior official at the Russian Defense Ministry, said on October 25 that Moscow was extending a moratorium begun on October 19, but did not say for how long.

Rudskoi and other Russian military officials said Russia and Syria have not carried out air strikes against opposition-held areas of Aleppo for the past week.

But the Syrian Observatory for



Human Rights said air strikes resumed after a lull in fighting ended on October 22. There have been no civilian deaths from air strikes inside eastern Aleppo, however, the monitor said.

The U.S. State Department urged Russia to use the newly announced pause the bombing to ensure the delivery of aid to besieged civilians.

"We obviously welcome any reduction in the violence, but it has to be met with a commitment and an actual delivery of humanitarian assistance, which was the purpose in the first place," department spokesman John Kirby said.