Germany urges UN-supervised access to Syrian city of Aleppo
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2016, file photo, civilians walk with containers for fuel and water in Aleppo, Syria. Syrian rescue worker says three civilians, a mother and two children, died in a suspected chlorine gas attack on an opposition-held district in the city of Aleppo. The report, which was posted online on Thursday, Aug. 11, could not be independently verified and it was not clear how it was determined that chlorine gas was released. (Alexander Kots/Komsomolskaya Pravda via AP, File) (The Associated Press)
Germany's foreign minister is calling for U.N.-supervised humanitarian access to the contested Syrian city of Aleppo and says a unilateral three-hour daily cease-fire isn't enough.
The Russian military, which is fighting alongside Syrian government forces in the civil war, has promised a daily, three-hour cease-fire for Aleppo to allow humanitarian aid into besieged areas. A senior U.N. humanitarian official already has said that a 48-hour pause each week is needed in view of the logistics of providing aid.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was quoted as telling Friday's edition of the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that "humanitarian access can't be under the single-handed control of one side of the conflict."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He added that "a unilaterally declared three-hour cease-fire per day isn't enough to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe."