Russian planes bomb Aleppo as Syrian army begins assault
Rebel-held areas of Aleppo were hit by about 30 strikes overnight
according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, after the Syrian army announced it was launching a new offensive to retake the entire city. Video provided by AFP Newslook
Russian aircraft dropped dozens of bombs Friday on rebel and Islamic State areas, including civil defense centers, a human rights group said, as the Syrian government announced a major military operation in the city. The latest violence appears to doom a cease-fire that has been violated repeatedly since it went into effect Sept 12.
Russian aircraft dropped 50 bombs in the city and 30 in the surrounding areas, killing at least 14 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based monitoring group with activists on the ground. Residents told Reuters the attacks included helicopters dropping bombs made from oil drums, a common tactic of the Syrian President Bashar Assad's army during the country's 5-year-old civil war.
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The Syrian military command in the city announced the start of its operations in the eastern neighborhoods of the city, and called "on citizens to keep away from sites and centers of armed terrorist groups," according to the government-run Syrian Arab News Agency, SANA. The military is offering to provide civilians shelter, "including those who were misled" by rebel fighters, the statement said.
Doctors Without Borders said in a statement that 145 people were admitted in the past two days to eight hospitals it runs in Aleppo, and that residents who've been denied food and medical aid for months are now targets of "indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas."
“People in Aleppo already suffocating under the effects of the siege, have yet again come under horrific attack”, said Carlos Francisco, the aid group's head of mission in Syria. “No aid, including urgent medical supplies is allowed to enter."
Ibrahim Alhaj, a member of the Syrian Civil Defense, told the Associated Press that three of the group's four centers in the city were targeted in the air strikes. Secretary of State John Kerry praised the humanitarian group, also known as the White Helmets, at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Thursday.
When bombs explode in #Syria, the White Helmets are the brave 1st responders on the scene. Honored to meet their leader & #Aleppo activists.
— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) September 23, 2016
Battles raged across many fronts of Aleppo, 11 days after a U.S.-Russian cease-fire agreement was supposed to allow humanitarian supplies to reach the same areas now under attack. The agreement, which called for seven days of calm and humanitarian access, was supposed to lead to a U.S.-Russian effort to share intelligence and targeting information on terrorist groups Islamic State and Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's franchise in Syria.
Kerry, who learned of the military offensive during a meeting on Syria in New York City on Thursday night, said it “is exactly the kind of regime action that has done so much damage" to the cease-fire.
Russia and Assad “must do their part, or (the cease-fire) will have no chance,” he said. “The question now is whether there remains any real chance of moving forward, because it’s clear we cannot continue on the same path any longer.”
The cease-fire has been collapsing after Russia charged that a U.S.-led coalition bombed Syrian forces on Sept. 17, killing dozens of troops in what Kerry apologetically called a "terrible accident." Then on Monday, the U.S. charged that Russia was responsible for a strike on a U.N. aid convoy in Aleppo. Russia denied responsibility. At the same time, the Syrian military said it would no longer abide by the cease-fire because of violations by rebel groups.
Syria's cease-fire has faltered further after an aid convoy was hit by airstrikes, with activists saying a number of people were killed in the attack, mostly truck drivers and Red Crescent workers. (Sept. 20) AP
Airstrikes hit a U.N. Humanitarian convoy in Syria on Monday. At least 12 people are reported dead, mostly humanitarian aid workers. It is unclear who launched the attack, although Russian and Syrian aircraft are known to operate in the area. (Sept. 20) AP
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Calling the Syrian ceasefire "fragile," Secretary of State John Kerry says humanitarian aid trucks are moving to some beseiged cities. (Sept. 19) AP
For the first time in nearly a week, strikes hit rebel-held areas of Aleppo following a U.S.-led raid that killed scores of Syrian regime soldiers. The US has said it believed it was striking Islamic State group fighters. Video provided by AFP Newslook
Instead of colourful, handmade caps for sale to Syrians and foreign tourists, Zakaria Mosuli -- the last tailor in Aleppo's battered Old City -- now sews military headwear almost exclusively for soldiers. Video provided by AFP Newslook
Cars emblazoned with the logo of the United Nations were seen crossing from Turkey into Syria via the Cilvegozu border gate on Saturday. UN aid trucks have been stuck in the customs area for several days, waiting to deliver aid in Syria. (Sept. 17) AP
The UN Syria envoy urges the Damascus government to allow humanitarian aid deliveries indicating the regime has broken its pledges on the distribution of life-saving supplies. Video provided by AFP Newslook
Foreign affairs reporter Oren Dorell explains who is fighting whom in the five-year Syrian Civil War in two minutes. USA TODAY
US Secretary of State John Kerry urges Syria's warring parties to observe a US-Russian brokered ceasefire and warned it could be a last chance to save the country. Video provided by AFP Newslook
The cease-fire began Monday at sundown, and Secretary of State John Kerry is cautiously optimistic. Video provided by Newsy Newslook
In Aleppo's rebel-held neighbourhoods, residents experience a rare day of calm following the implementation of a ceasefire billed as the "last chance" for peace in Syria. Video provided by AFP Newslook
Dozens of people had to be treated for breathing problems in the Syrian battlefront city of Aleppo after regime helicopters dropped barrel bombs on a rebel-held district, a monitor said. Video provided by AFP Newslook
Secretary of State, John Kerry spelled out his views about the ceasefire agreement that has been negotiated to bring a stop to the fighting in Syria. Kerry said, "no one is building this based on trust." (Sept. 10) AP
Syrian pro-government forces backed by airstrikes launched a wide offensive in the northern city of Aleppo on Sunday, capturing areas they lost last month and almost besieging rebel-held neighborhoods, state media and opposition activists said. (Sept. 4) AP
Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, one of the jihadist group’s longest-serving officials, has been killed in Aleppo in Syria, its Amaq News Agency reported on Tuesday. WIBBITZ
Syrian state media reports that several bombings in government-controlled territory have killed more than three dozen people. Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for at least one of the bombings. (Sept. 5) AP
Aid convoys have not reached Syria's besieged areas with desperately needed food and medicine for the past month, the UN envoy to the war-ravaged country, Staffan de Mistura, says. Video provided by AFP Newslook
Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency said on Wednesday that Turkish tanks have crossed into Syria as part of a military operation to free a border town held by the Islamic State group. (Aug. 24) AP
Fighting intensified around Aleppo on Wednesday as Syrian government forces used rocket propelled grenades and tanks to try and dislodge the opposition. (Aug. 3) AP
The Aleppo Media Center published a video showing a child that it said had been rescued after strikes on a area in rebel-held eastern Aleppo. The images of the child covered in dust and blood in the ambulance have brought the spotlight on the plight of civilians in Syria's conflict-hit second city. Video provided by AFP Newslook
At least 11 people, including five children, are killed in air strikes on the rebel-held town of Atareb west of Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Video provided by AFP Newslook
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