Both Syrian and Russian aircraft operate over Syria, as well as the USA -led coalition that is targeting the Islamic State group.
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The UN said Tuesday it had suspended all humanitarian aid convoys in Syria after a deadly air raid hit trucks delivering aid near Aleppo, killing a Red Crescent staff member and civilians. Both Syrian and Russian aircraft operate over the province, while the US -led coalition targets the Islamic State group in other parts of the country.
Two Russian Sukhoi SU-24 warplanes were in the skies above the aid convoy at the exact time it was struck late on Monday, two US officials told Reuters, citing USA intelligence that led them to conclude Russia was to blame.
The officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the incident. Instead, they say it was rebels that must’ve attacked the convoy or started a fire. USA officials, however, told CNN that only a Russian warplane could have struck the convoy. It was carrying food, medicines, emergency health kits, IV fluids, and other essentials supplied by the United Nations and the World Health Organization. The AP quotes a paramedic at the scene as saying over 100 tons of food, medicine and baby formula were destroyed in the bombing. The strike hit at least 18 of the 31 trucks in the convoy, which was bringing food relief from United Nations stores to the town of Urm al-Kubra, west of Aleppo, in an area controlled by rebel groups. “I think there has been a moment of shock and frankly disgust by this attack”, Laerke said.
Following Monday’s attack, there were reports of intensified clashes across Syria.
At the same time the attack took place on Uram al-Kubra, presumed Syrian or Russian jets launched a wave of attacks in and around the nearby city of Aleppo, minutes after Syria’s military announced a weeklong cease-fire had expired. The regime helicopter targeted this place with four barrel bombs.
Video uploaded by the Syrian Civil Defense forces, also known as the White Helmets, showed the site of the convoy bombing along with firefighting efforts in Aleppo’s Sukkari district.
“There were reconnaissance flights before the airstrikes”, said Badawi.
The UN and Red Crescent spoke of relentless air strikes they were powerless to stop. “The target was the Red Crescent, central and direct”.
The International Red Cross called it a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law”, and Save The Children described it as “devastating”.
In the week after the truce was declared on September 12, only 27 civilians were killed as fighting dropped significantly across the country.
Witnesses said some of the remains were charred beyond recognition.
In a joint statement, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), express their anger over the horrific attack adding that it has deprived thousands of civilians of essential food and medical assistance. The director of the SARC-Orem branch, Omar Barakat, was also killed in the strike.
Departing secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has used his farewell address to the United Nations general assembly to denounce the “sickening, savage and apparently deliberate attack”. “Just when we think it can not get any worse, the bar of depravity sinks lower”, he said, describing the bombers as “cowards” and those delivering aid as “heroes”.
The U.N. Security Council is due to hold a high-level meeting on Syria on Wednesday.
Speaking to world leaders at the UN General Assembly in NY, he said: “The humanitarians delivering life-saving aid were heroes”.
Reached for clarification, OCHA’s Damascus office said only interagency convoys had been suspended, without elaborating further.
It’s claimed everyone knew about the aid convoy and had given it permission.
“It is clearly seen in the video that a terrorists’ pickup truck with a towed large-caliber mortar is moving along with the convoy”, he said.
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“So, in the end, the burden falls on the besieged”, lamented al-Ahmad.
