The intensity of the attack and the power of some of the larger bombs are unprecedented even for a city that has endured some of the most brutal fighting of Syria’s long civil war, including years of notoriously imprecise barrel bombs.
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Kerry had harsh words for Moscow’s involvement in the conflict, in comments at a meeting with his European counterparts.
Almost two weeks after a tenuous ceasefire was declared in Syria, Russian and Syrian government warplanes on Saturday pounded rebel-held territory with a barrage of airstrikes in the embattled city of Aleppo.
“Most of the victims were children and women”.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said the Syrian troops had pushed back rebel lines in a southern district of Aleppo.
In an interview with The Associated Press in Damascus, a defiant Mr Assad said he takes no notice of what USA government officials say. “He died on the spot”, Nizar said, the body of his son on the ground wrapped in a blanket. “In retaliation, the Suleiman al Halabi pumping station, also located in the east, was switched off – cutting water to 1.5 million people in the western parts of the city”, said Hanaa Singer, UNICEF representative in Syria. They said the indiscriminate bombing of civilians must stop.
There was massive destruction in several neighbourhoods, including Al-Kalasseh and Bustan al-Qasr, where some streets were nearly erased by the bombardment.
Aleppo residents say air and missile attacks are using ordnance more destructive than anything previously deployed in the area, and many buildings have been destroyed.
Entire apartment blocks were flattened, overwhelming rescue teams from the White Helmets civil defence organisation.
With no electricity or fuel for generators, the streets of Aleppo are pitch black and hard to navigate at night, and the fuel shortage has also made it tough to fill up vehicles.
‘Every missile makes an quake we feel regardless of how far off the bombardment is, ‘ one resident said.
Washington said the attack was “unintentional”, a claim totally rejected by the Syrian government, with President Bashar al-Assad saying the USA -led coalition intentionally struck the Syrian army posts in Deir al-Zour.
A commander in the Nour Al-Din Al-Zenki rebel faction stated on Friday that the regime had failed to advance since the offensive began.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said a revival of a ceasefire in Syria depended on all sides involved and not only on “Russia’s unilateral concessions”.
“People in Aleppo already suffocating under the effects of the siege, have yet again come under horrific attack”, said Carlos Francisco of Doctors Without Borders, which supports a number of area clinics.
The ceasefire negotiated by the United States and Russian Federation brought a brief respite from the violence, but the agreement broke down this week.
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An unnamed Syrian military official was quoted by state media on Friday as saying that airstrikes and shelling in Aleppo would continue for an extended period and “include a ground offensive” into rebel-held areas.
