UN Security Council approves monitors for E. Aleppo

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON

The UN Security Council on Monday voted unanimously to immediately send monitors to eastern Aleppo as thousands of residents prepare to vacate the once opposition stronghold.

In addition to overseeing the exodus of civilians, monitors would also be tasked with reporting on the status of those who remain trapped in the city.

The Security Council resolution was originally tabled by France, which said it was desperately needed to avoid "mass atrocities" by Syrian regime forces.

Russia appeared to have reservations about the French resolution, initially submitting a rival piece of legislation that it dropped after hours-long consultations with Paris on Sunday.

Moscow had previously vetoed six similar draft decisions before consenting to Monday's resolution.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called on Syria’s warring camps -- especially Damascus and its allies -- to implement the resolution’s terms immediately.

The resolution calls on all parties to provide monitors with "safe, immediate and unimpeded access" to eastern Aleppo.

Syria’s regime of President Bashar al-Assad recently undertook a widespread campaign in eastern Aleppo aimed at purging it of armed opposition groups that have controlled the area since 2012.

The campaign has left wide swathes of Aleppo in ruins and prompted humanitarian concerns about civilians stuck in the city as weather conditions worsen.

Successive efforts to evacuate those trapped in the city, including opposition fighters, have faced sporadic delays.

The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported that more than 1,000 rebels and their families were evacuated from the city Monday.

In total, some 13,000 people -- including 4,000 rebels -- have been evacuated from eastern Aleppo since operations began, the observatory, which relies on a network of local activists for its information, said.

The total number of people remaining in the former opposition enclave remains unclear.

The observatory has also reported that about 500 people from the opposition-besieged towns of Foua and Kefraya had recently arrived in Aleppo.

The State Department said the U.S. would bring to the attention of UN Security Council the presence in Aleppo of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Gen. Qaseem Suleimani.

Suleimani was pictured in the areas captured by Assad forces last week.

“We do intend to consult with our partners on the Security Council about how to address our concerns with this,” State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters. “We've long said that Iran needs to choose whether it's going to play a positive role in helping peacefully resolve conflicts, such as in Syria, or whether it will choose to prolong them.”

There has been a ban on Suleimani’s international travel under a UN Security Council resolution.

*Washington correspondent Kasim Ileri contributed to this report.