BEIRUT - The Syrian military is calling on residents of besieged rebel-held districts in the city of Aleppo to evacuate and for gunmen to lay down their weapons as the humanitarian pause announced by Russia takes effect.

Moscow says the three-day pause is to allow civilians and militants safe passage out of the eastern districts of the city - under a tight siege since July and a punishing bombing campaign since mid-September. Al-Mayadeen TV, a Beirut-based pro-Syrian channel, broadcast today an hour after the pause began from near one of the designated passages.

Loudspeakers blared with military calls for residents to let the sick and wounded out first, and urging fighters to lay down their guns. The message: "The battle for returning Aleppo to the nation's fold is in its last phases. There is no point in continuing the fight."