“The humanitarians delivering lifesaving aid were heroes”, Ban said.
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US Secretary of State John Kerry responded with a call on Syria and Russian Federation to end aerial bombardment of eastern Aleppo, stating that there was “no chance” of peace without an end to military operations and coordination between the parties.
Russia has denied carrying out the strike, instead charging that the convoy was hit by a “terrorists’ pickup truck carrying a large-caliber mortar”, according to Russian state news agency Tass.
That appeal went unheeded. “A Syrian military official said airstrikes and shelling in Aleppo might continue for an extended period and the operation will expand into a ground invasion of rebel-held districts”, The Associated Press reported, quoting Syrian state media. Activists circulated video of massive fires, apparently ignited by incendiary weapons.
Amid the new wave of violence, President Bashar Assad struck a defiant tone. The State Department called Assad’s claim the strike was intentional “ridiculous”. For the September trip, it had obtained all necessary clearances from the government, rebels as well as the Americans and Russians, who operated aircraft in Syrian skies.
He then outlined a series of USA complaints Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government and its chief backer, Russia.
“It’s hard to see how these ridiculous claims deserve a response, except to say they prove yet again the degree to which Assad has lost his legitimacy to govern and how vital it remains for the worldwide community to achieve a political solution that gives the Syrian people a voice in their future”, spokesman John Kirby said Thursday.
Both Russia and the United States agreed to use their influence on the western-backed rebels and the Syrian government to stick to the truce. When you use an armament, you use it to defend the civilians.
“He would famously remind us that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts”, Mr. Kerry said.
Assad’s comments were released as the United Nations announced it would resume aid shipments in Syria, having cancelled them on Tuesday after a convoy was destroyed and 20 people killed while attempting to transport food to Aleppo city.
But the world body said security fears were preventing vital deliveries to other besieged areas, which are home to an estimated 1 million Syrians. US officials believe Russian aircraft were responsible for the strike, but Moscow has denied involvement and the Russian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday a US Predator drone was in the area when the convoy was attacked.
Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said these were “the most intense strikes in months”, while opposition activists accused the Syrian government and its ally Russian Federation of dropping “incendiary phosphorous bombs”.
Prior to the talks in New York, Syrian opposition groups released a letter saying they would not support a resumption of the truce unless consequences for violating it were spelled out. They told the committee the US should not discontinue flying aircraft over Syria. As NPR’s Alice Fordham has reported, the USA says it is still trying to negotiate with Russian Federation to restore the truce.
The diametrically opposed views of Washington and Moscow were on full display at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Wednesday that had originally been called to enshrine the truce.
While John Kerry said that Russia-US plan was “far from flawless”, he noted that there was no alternative to a peaceful solution in Syria. The official said Kerry and Lavrov never even reached a tentative understanding between themselves, let alone their governments.
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This article was first published at 1:30 p.m.
