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Russia has vetoed a UN vote that would see international observers enter Aleppo to monitor evacuation efforts and offer aid to civilians.
The development, confirmed by the Russian ambassador to the UN, came as buses due to evacuate civilians from the besieged Syrian villages of al-Foua and Kefraya were attacked and set ablaze.
The veto of the French-drafted proposal will be Moscow's sixth since the conflict in Syria began in 2011.
"We cannot support it, we cannot allow it to pass because this is a disaster. But there could be another thing which could be adopted today by the Security Council which would accomplish the same goals," Vitaly Churkin said on Sunday without elaborating.
It came after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the West's efforts to bring about a resolution to the crisis, saying: "Aleppo is now a synonym for hell."