Airstrikes continue to rain down on east Aleppo

More than a dozen airstrikes had been carried out overnight in rebel-held districts of east Aleppo amid ongoing bombardment of the area by Syrian regime and Russian warplanes.

The Syrian Civil Defence, or White Helmets, reported on Thursday that 13 people had been killed and 25 injured in airstrikes, with defence teams still looking under rubble for survivors. 

Relentless bombardment

According to the Halab Today TV station cluster munitions were deployed over east Aleppo, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said that clashes had taken place between pro-regime forces and rebels in Aleppo’s northern suburbs.

Over 350 civilians have been killed in east Aleppo since a US-Russian brokered ceasefire collapsed on September 19, according to the UK-based monitor. 

An international meeting headed by the US and Russia is set to take place in Lausanne this Saturday aimed at curbing deadly violence in Syria, with a particular focus on Aleppo where life in rebel-held districts of the city has been described as a "merciless abyss of humanitarian catastrophe".

Elsewhere in Syria the Observatory reported government bombardment on rebel positions in Daraa, Hama, Idlib and Homs provinces.

Another evacuation deal in Damascus

Meanwhile, in Damascus, reports emerged that a deal had been reached between the Syrian regime and rebel fighters in the suburb of Qudsaya that will see some 150 rebels and their families leave the area and be transferred to the north-western province of Idlib.

Rebels are set to hand over light weapons to regime authorities on Thursday before they are transported away from the area on Friday in a manner similar to deals that have taken place previously this year in other suburbs of Damascus such as Daraya, and Moadamiyeh, and the al-Waer neighbourhood of Homs.