BREAKING NEWS

Merkel ally calls for sanctions on Russia due to Syrian involvement

The head of Germany's foreign affairs committee, an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, called on Monday for Berlin to impose sanctions on Russia because of its supporting role in the war in Syria.

The Syrian army and its allies announced the capture of a swathe of eastern Aleppo from rebels on Monday in an accelerating attack that threatens to crush the opposition in its most important urban stronghold.

Norbert Roettgen, a lawmaker in Merkel's Christian Democratic (CDU) party, and Greens parliamentarian Franziska Brantner said that the West must act immediately in view of the Syrian-Russian attacks in eastern Aleppo.