Demonstrators disrupt Corbyn speech, call for greater Syria intervention

Demonstrators led by human rights activist Peter Tatchell disrupted a speech by the British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn on Saturday, calling for a more forthright stand against the bombing of east Aleppo

Tatchell, previously a Labour supporter known mainly for LGBT rights activism, interrupted the speech to call on the leader to support air drops into the besieged Syrian enclave, despite the party’s shadow foreign secretary already having voiced support for such a measure.

"What is happening in Aleppo is a modern-day Guernica," said Tatchell.

"We haven't heard the leader of the Labour party speak out enough to demand UK air drops to besieged civilians who are dying in their thousands."

As the protesters stood silently in front of Corbyn, he was heard to say "it's all right, it's OK" and was seen consulting with Labour peer Shami Chakrabarti.

Corbyn left the podium, then later returned, emphasising his opposition to the bombing in east Aleppo, which is being carried out by the Bashar al-Assad government forces and its ally Russia.

Forces loyal to Assad have overrun around 85 percent of east Aleppo, a rebel stronghold since 2012.The UN's Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura has said the world is watching "the last steps" in the Aleppo battle and evacuating civilians must be a priority.

"There has to be an end to the bombing, there has to be a ceasefire, there has to be a political solution in Syria," the Labour leader stated. He later said in a question and answer session that he had condemned the Russian bombing.

Emily Thornberry, Labour's Shadow Foreign Secretary, said the party did support air drops into eastern Aleppo and had "taken the strongest possible stand on this issue."

Tatchell said that Corbyn's Labour party had "forsaken the principle of international solidarity" by not showing solidarity with  civil society organisations in Syria and backing a UN-sanctioned evacuation of Syrians from eastern Aleppo.

Corbyn was making a speech to mark the anniversary of the UN General Assembly's signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

Tens of thousands of people have fled east Aleppo in recent weeks, with another 2,000 civilians pouring out of the remaining rebel-held districts on Saturday, according to the Observatory. 

State news agency SANA also reported the displacement, but gave a number of 3,000 people and said they had been taken to the temporary shelter in Jibrin, about 10km east of Aleppo.

The UN said Friday it had received reports of rebels blocking some from leaving and of reprisals against residents who asked armed groups to leave.

It has also expressed concern about reports that hundreds of men had gone missing after fleeing to government-held territory.

The fall of east Aleppo would be the biggest blow for the rebels since Syria's conflict broke out in 2011. 

It began as a widespread protest movement against Assad's government but has since evolved into an all-out war that has seen militants like the Islamic State group rise to prominence.