The Latest: Syria Rebels Dismiss Putin’s Aleppo Initiatives

The New York Times, Nov. 2nd, 2016 – A spokesman for one of the main Syrian rebel groups in Aleppo has dismissed Russia’s humanitarian pause in the city, describing it as a media stunt for “public consumption.”
Yasser al-Youssef, a spokesman for the Nour el-Din el-Zinki rebel group, says Russia “is not serious” and its latest initiatives “don’t concern us.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday offered a new humanitarian pause in rebel-held parts of Aleppo, urging rebels to use it to leave the eastern districts.
Putin has ordered that the aid corridors — which Russia had opened earlier — also be open on Friday, along with two new exit routes for the rebels.
Al-Youssef said the Russian leader’s comments do not reflect the reality on the ground. He says the rebels want “an international commission to check the Russian lies.”