Shia militias mount final assault on E. Aleppo

ALEPPO, Syria (AA) – Thousands of Shia militiamen under the command of the Iranian General Seyyid Jevat have launched an attack on the besieged civilian settlements in Syria’s eastern Aleppo province on Wednesday amid the cease-fire efforts by Turkey and Russia.

According to Anadolu Agency correspondent at the scene, the violent attack was started by the Hezbollah militia, Afghanistan’s Fatimiyun Brigade, Iraq’s Nuceba movement brigade under the command of the Iranian General Seyyid Jevat.

Thousands of militiamen were trying to capture the areas controlled by the opposition groups trapped in just six kilometer square in Aleppo.

The opposition groups were trying to resist against the mortars and missiles fired by Shia militiamen.

The groups launched the operation on mostly the settlements in which the civilians are expected to be evacuated by agreement with Russia on behalf of the regime forces in the mediation of Turkey.

Meanwhile, the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) called for an urgent meeting on Dec. 22 at the level of foreign ministers to discuss the latest developments in Syria's Aleppo city, according to a statement issued by the OIC on Wednesday.

On Tuesday evening, the Assad regime and Syrian opposition forces agreed to a Turkey-brokered cease-fire to allow for the evacuation of civilians from eastern Aleppo.

Recent days have seen Assad regime forces reestablish control over parts of Aleppo captured four years ago by armed opposition groups.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which had erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed by the conflict and millions more displaced.