Paris turns off Eiffel Tower lights for Aleppo

Famed landmark also honoured Orlando nightclub shooting, Brussels bombings and Paris attacks

The Eiffel Tower's lights will be switched off early (Getty)

The famous lights of the Eiffel Tower were switched off on Wednesday in a show of solidarity with the under-siege Syrian city of Aleppo.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo announced the iconic 300m-high landmark would plunged into darkness at 8pm.

The United Nations has branded what is happening in Aleppo a “meltdown of humanity” - with hundreds of thousands killed.

“This evening, at 8pm, @LaTourEiffel will be extinguished to symbolically support the city of @Paris in #Alep and all its inhabitants,” said Ms Hidalgo.

The Eiffel Tower, which usually turns its lights out between 1 and 2am, has been used as a symbol of unity before.

It was illuminated with rainbow colours after the Orlando gay club shooting that killed 49 people, with the Belgian flag colours after the Brussels bombings, and with the French tricolour after the Paris attacks last year.

Its lights were also switched off early in the aftermath of the Isis assaults of 13 November, 2015, that killed 130 people and injured many more.

“This symbolic measure at a building known worldwide will aim to once again alert the international community to the need for urgent action,” said Ms Hidalgo's office, in a statement.

The UN believes pro-government forces slaughtered at least 82 civilians while closing in on taking the besieged Syrian city.

The Syrian military claim to have taken control of 98 per cent of rebel-held east Aleppo early on Monday morning.

The approximately 8,000 rebels – including al-Qaeda affiliated fighters – have been cut off from reinforcements, aid and food supplies since August.

In the House of Commons, former Chancellor George Osborne said he takes personal responsibility over Aleppo, while Labour MP Emily Thornberry said Syria, Russia and Iran’s governments were responsible for “hours of shame and disgrace”.

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