The UN Security Council will meet to urgently address the crisis over fighting in Aleppo.
Advertisement
A pause in fighting, agreed by Russian Federation and the USA earlier this month, was meant to improve aid deliveries and lead to joint operations against Islamic State and other militant groups.
A new wave of airstrikes on rebel-held areas of Aleppo has killed at least 32 people, as almost two million civilians go without running water in the devastated city.
The Turkey-based Syrian National Coalition, one of Syria’s main opposition groups, condemned the attacks on Aleppo, calling it “a insane crime led by the Assad regime and Russian occupation”.
At least 45 civilians were reportedly killed as heavy air raids shattered buildings on Saturday.
That same day, an aid convoy was hit by an air strike that USA officials have said was carried out by Russian planes, although Moscow has denied responsibility.
The fall of Handarat to Syrian troops allied with pro-government Palestinian fighters pushed insurgents further away from the government-controlled Castello Road, a main artery leading to rebel-held parts of the city.
Syrian government and rebel forces are battling for control of high ground on the outskirts of Aleppo, as warplanes relentlessly bombed the city’s opposition-held east, in a Russian-backed offensive.
The Syrian army said it was only targeting militants.
Kieran Dwyer, spokesman for the United Nations children’s agency Unicef, said water was now being used as a weapon of war by both sides and warned the results could be “catastrophic”.
Earlier, in a statement, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was appalled by the chilling upsurge in fighting in Aleppo and warned that the use of advanced weaponry in the battleground city could amount to war crimes.
The meeting, which will be public, was requested by the United States, Britain and France, diplomats said.
US Secretary of State John Kerry was left pleading this week with Russian Federation to halt air strikes, but was ignored.
“We retook the camp, but the regime burnt it with phosphorous bombs”.
When asked what weapons were being used, the source said the army was using precise weapons “suitable for the nature of the targets being struck, according to the type of fortifications”, such as tunnels and bunkers, and “specifically command centres”.
But Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid Muallem told the UN General Assembly on Saturday that he was confident of a military victory, because the army was making “great strides” on the ground, with help from Russia, Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Advertisement
‘Then in retaliation for that attack a nearby pumping station that pumps water to the entire western part of the city – upwards to 1.5 million people – was deliberately switched off’.
