Asharq Al-Awsat English, 29 Nov. 2016- France on Tuesday called for an “immediate” United Nations Security Council meeting on Aleppo to tackle a “humanitarian disaster” as the U.N. said up to 16,000 people have been displaced by intense attacks on the rebel-held eastern part of the city.

“More than ever, there is an urgent need for a cessation of hostilities and unhindered access to humanitarian assistance”, Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in a statement on Aleppo, where tens of thousands of civilians are still trapped in the fighting between regime troops and rebels.

U.N. humanitarian chief and relief coordinator Stephen O’Brien said: “The intensity of attacks on eastern Aleppo neighborhoods over the past few days has forced thousands of civilians to flee to other parts of the city.”

He added that reports from the U.N.’s humanitarian partners indicated that “up to 16,000 people have been displaced, many into uncertain and precarious situations”.

O’Brien described the situation as “chilling”.

Ayrault said last week that Paris would host a high-level ministerial meeting in December to discuss the means to end the bloodshed in Syria.

The meeting will gather foreign ministers of countries supporting the moderate Syrian opposition, including the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Britain and Turkey, as well as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

A French diplomatic source said that Ayrault and his German counterpart would discuss Aleppo with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a meeting in Minsk on Tuesday.