Eiffel Tower blacks out for Aleppo

PARIS, France - The lights of the Eiffel Tower in Paris were switched off on Wednesday to show support for the people of the shattered Syrian city of Aleppo.

The monument was plunged into darkness from 8:00 pm (1900 GMT) in what Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said was a protest at the "unbearable" situation for civilians in the city where fighting raged during the day.

Rebel forces announced a new deal late Wednesday to allow residents to be evacuated from the city.

Hidalgo said in a statement before the lights on the tower were switched off that "the final roads of Aleppo held by the opposition are being taken by the regime, creating hundreds of victims".

Several hundred people demonstrated in Paris on Wednesday in support of Aleppo's residents, an AFP journalist reported.

Some of the protesters wore a piece of red clothing to symbolize the blood spilled in the fierce battle for Syria's second city. — Agence France-Presse