Aleppo evacuation corridor 'hit by mortar shells' during humanitarian pause

A temporary halt in fighting announced by Russia to allow Syrian rebels and residents to leave besieged eastern parts of Aleppo has come into effect, with a relative calm reportedly being broken by new shelling.

State media said seven mortar shells from the rebel-held side of the city hit one of the corridors opened for those wanting to leave eastern Aleppo. State TV said a correspondent for a pro-government station was wounded by shrapnel.

It was the first major violation of the halt in fighting, unilaterally announced by Russia. The Syrian government has largely abided by the halt and there has been no reported shelling or violence in the besieged part of the city.

Earlier, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had registered no significant military action by Syrian troops and their allies or by opposition fighters in the first few hours of the 10-hour "humanitarian pause".

Syrian state TV showed footage from one of the designated corridors with buses parked to transport anyone coming out of eastern Aleppo. Police and an Islamic cleric were waiting at the crossing.

The Observatory said that by midday no one had used the corridors. A Civil Defence volunteer, Ibrahim al-Haj, said no one left in the early afternoon either.

Webcam footage from the corridors shared by the Russian Defence Ministry also showed no activities there.

The UN estimates that 275,000 people are trapped in the eastern, rebel-held part of the divided city.

Amnesty International said fears for the safety of civilians in the city are mounting amid "the looming threat of a resumption and a possible escalation of the fighting" once the humanitarian pause expires.

"The scale of the devastation in eastern Aleppo in recent months has been chilling," said Samah Hadid, with Amnesty's office in Beirut.

"Given the track record of the forces fighting in Aleppo - particularly government forces - Amnesty International fears there will be very high civilian casualties as Syrian forces, supported by Russia, escalate attacks in order to seize control of the city.

"The temporary humanitarian pause announced by Russia is no substitute for unfettered and impartial humanitarian access and ensuring protection of civilians in the longer term."

A rebel spokesman, Yasser al-Youssef, from the Nour el-Din el-Zinki group, and an eastern Aleppo resident, Wissam Zarqa, said war planes were flying over the area. Mr al-Youssef also said the planes continued to target rebel supply lines in western Aleppo province.

The Qasioun news agency reported that the planes fired missiles on the towns of Urem al-Kubra and Kfar Naha, wounding several people.

After midday, air strikes hit the western town of Atareb, about 15 miles from Aleppo, killing at least three children, according to the activist platform Aleppo Today TV and the Revolutionary Forces of Syria.

Russia's offer of a 10-hour humanitarian pause, announced earlier this week, has raised speculation that a major offensive may be planned once the pause expires.

Overnight, leaflets from the Syrian Armed Forces were dropped over eastern Aleppo, urging residents and rebels to take advantage of the pause and leave the city. Activists posted online one such leaflet, which gives instructions to the residents on how to leave the area safely, with hands raised.

There has been no official word from Russia on what would happen once the humanitarian pause expires. Last month, pauses expired with no resumption of air strikes, which Russia said it halted on the eastern side of the city. Later, residents reported air strikes on the front line with western Aleppo.

A Moscow legislator told the private Russian news agency Interfax that a "purge" of the eastern part of the city would begin if the pause produced no results. President Vladimir Putin urged the opposition fighters to use the passages offered to leave the city.

Russia recently dispatched its aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, which is now in the Mediterranean and heading for the Syrian coast. Its presence suggests Russia may be intending to escalate its assault on rebel-held parts of the northern Syrian city.