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LONDON: World powers should force Russia to halt airstrikes on civilian targets in Syria and humanitarian measures should be implemented before the opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad will join peace talks, the opposition negotiators said on Wednesday.

Riad Hijab, a former Syrian prime minister who heads an opposition council backed by ��������Ƶ, said talks could only take place if sieges were lifted, humanitarian assistance arrived and Russia halted airstrikes.
“I talk about lifting up the sieges of those encircled cities and towns and releasing those who are detained and letting all the aid and assistance arrive to those who are in need, and stop the striking of those residential civilian areas,” Hijab said through a translator.
“Before we go on the 25 of February there should be measures implemented on the reality of the land,” he said.
A Russian-backed regime onslaught in northern Syria was reported Wednesday to have killed more than 500 people this month, as Turkey faced mounting pressure to open its border to people fleeing the violence.
Tens of thousands of Syrians were still stranded Wednesday at the frontier north of the second city of Aleppo, which remained closed despite an appeal by the United Nations to let civilians pass.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 506 people had died since the regime launched a major offensive against rebels in Aleppo province on Feb. 1.
They include 23 children who were killed in Russian airstrikes, according to the British-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources on the ground.
Those who have fled the offensive tell of scenes of terror and suffering.
“Children are dying under bombs and from hunger and cold. They are living on the roads. They don’t have any place to stay,” said Abdul Karim Bahloul, who crossed into Turkey on Wednesday morning.
Fighting on Wednesday raged around Tamura, north of Aleppo city, with intense Russian air raids on several nearby villages, the Observatory said.