Syrian rebels Ahrar al-Sham reject amnesty offer as 'ludicrous'

A leading rebel group in Aleppo has rejected an amnesty offer by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, amid reports rebel fighters were preventing civilians fleeing the city through new "humanitarian corridors" announced by the government's Russian allies.

Russia on Thursday announced the opening of aid passages for civilians to leave the rebel-held eastern areas. It also offered a separate corridor for fighters, while the Syrian government offered rebel groups an amnesty.

However, the rebel group Ahrar al-Sham on Friday described the offer to Middle East Eye as "ludicrous".

"Assad is in no position to offer anything, he is a puppet," said a spokesman. "It’s ludicrous to even consider it an offer; this is a very usual tactic that the regime employs every time they make some progress on the ground.

"In reality they lack the legitimacy to make such an offer. We have learned that there is one way only to deal with the regime, and that is on the battlefield."

Only a dozen people have been able to get through the Russian "humanitarian corridors" before militants prevented them from fleeing, according to a report on Friday.

Government aircraft bombed eastern areas of Aleppo overnight, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, without specifying casualties.

Entrances to the corridors were effectively shut in rebel areas inside the city on Friday, the activist group said.

The other end of the passages, in government-held territory, were open however, according to the monitor, which relies on a wide network of sources inside Syria for its information.

Since they were established about "12 people managed to use the Bustan al-Qasr corridor before rebel groups reinforced security measures and prevented families from approaching the corridors," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.

However, the head of Aleppo city council, Haji Hassan, told MEE that reports a humanitarian corridor had been set up were "lies".

"Civilians are being targeted in all locations, especially around hospitals, schools and markets.

"How can the person who has been bombing civilians set up humanitarian corridors for them?"

Syria's opposition High Negotiations Committee on Thursday criticised the corridors, saying Russia and the government aimed to "alter Aleppo's demographics and ensure forced displacement".

Pro-Assad forces have surrounded Aleppo's eastern districts since 17 July, sparking fears for the 250,000 people who live there.

Rebel-held areas have been effectively besieged - with food shortages and price rises - since pro-government forces completely cut off the opposition's main supply road into the city.

Analysts say that losing Aleppo would be a major blow for the armed opposition and could signal a turning point in the conflict, which began in 2011 with the brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.

Meanwhile, the observatory said the Islamic State group had executed at least 24 civilians after seizing the village of Buyir, close to the northern town of Manbij, from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.