At least 18 people were killed and more than a dozen others injured on Tuesday by Russian airstrikes in Syria’s northern Aleppo province, according to a Syrian civil defense official.
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The regime forces targeted a centre for the Syrian Civil Defence, also referred to as the “White Helmets”, who serve as the first responders in the opposition-held area, where medical infrastructure has been destroyed.
A civil defence worker in Aleppo city said he and his colleagues were afraid their local headquarters would also be targeted.
It was unclear whether Syrian or Russian warplanes had launched the raids, he said. The group has repeatedly found itself in the line of fire, as their operations have put them in areas where all sides are firing indiscriminately at anything that moves.
Another Civil Defence member, Ahmad Sheikho, confirmed the attack and said ambulances along with vehicles that belonged to doctors were also hit.
The Syrian government is accused of dropping indiscriminate barrel bombs on rebel-held neighbourhoods.
Rebel-held neighbourhoods in eastern Aleppo have had their water and electricity supplies cut by bombardment, an AFP journalist said.
“From 8am, the aircraft were flying low and the sounds were very loud”.
Several shops and businesses were closed on both sides of the city on Monday and Tuesday, while schools were closed in the rebel-held part of the city, al-Shimale said.
Following a lull in fighting after the ceasefire took effect on February 27, violence has intensified in recent days, with more than 100 civilians reported dead in air strikes, shelling and rocket fire since Friday.
UN envoy Staffan de Mistura is due to give a progress report to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, when the talks are scheduled to go into recess.
The Syrian civil war started as a largely unarmed uprising against President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011, but quickly developed into a full-on armed conflict.
The opposition cited the dire humanitarian situation and ongoing Syrian army attacks when it walked out of negotiations in Geneva last week, saying it needed a “pause”.
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It was not immediately clear whether the strike on Al-Atarib, 35 kilometres (20 miles) from Aleppo, was carried out by the Syrian air force or its Russian ally.
