FILE - In this Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016, file photo, provided by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, rescue workers work the site of airstrikes in the al-Sakhour neighborhood of the rebel-held part of eastern Aleppo, Syria. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)
BEIRUT (AP) — A top official with Syria's main opposition says violence in northern Aleppo is reaching 'genocidal proportions,' but that rebel-held parts of the city are not about to fall to government-led forces.
Bassma Kodmani of the High Negotiations Committee, a key player in U.N.-mediated peace talks that stalled in April, says 'a large city like this cannot fall easily,' citing Homs to the south, which government forces took months to recapture.
In a phone interview Wednesday, Kodmani said: 'We are not talking about a fall of Aleppo within days or even two to three weeks,' just 'a level of violence against citizens that is reaching genocidal proportions.'
She lashed out at Russia, a key backer of President Bashar Assad, for allegedly 'mocking' the United Nations and its efforts to reach peace