He had several possible explanations for the track on the Syrian Red Crescent aid convoy, which killed 20 civilians but lay ceasefire violations squarely at the door of rebel forces backed by the US.
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Elizabeth Hoff, World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Syria, said it was preparing medical supplies for delivery to a Damascus suburb, subject to the normal security risk assessments. “I urge all parties to this ugly conflict to respect worldwide law and our common humanitarian principles and provide unconditional, unimpeded, sustained and safe access to the millions of civilians in need across Syria, no matter where they are or who they are”.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss intelligence information publicly. He also denied any Russian involvement, saying no Russian planes were in the area at the time. He recited Moscow’s changing narrative over a deadly attack this week on an aid convoy that has included everything from claims of a justifiable counterterror strike to vehicles spontaneously combusting.
The Britain-based Observatory said dozens of raids hit the city’s east overnight, as regime troops advanced on rebels in Aleppo’s southwestern outskirts.
The airstrike, which killed some 20 aid workers delivering humanitarian supplies to civilians, “raises profound doubt” as to whether Russian Federation and the Syrian government will live up to a ceasefire deal, Mr Kerry said.
“We support any and every measure that is going to bring a period of peace and stability, or at least a ceasefire in Syria, that will enable aid to get through to Aleppo and other places where it is needed”, Mr Turnbull told reporters in NY.
Laerke acknowledged that a full assessment had not been completed, but said the planned deliveries would take place now on a case-by-case basis.
An angry US Secretary of State John Kerry demanded at a UN Security Council meeting that Russian Federation force Syria to ground its air force, which Washington blames for an attack on an aid convoy.
Despite the tensions, Kerry insisted that efforts to salvage the truce were “not dead”, after a short meeting of the 23-nation International Syria Support Group (ISSG) in NY, where world leaders have gathered for the UN General Assembly. Mohammed Abu Jaafar, from the local forensics team, said one of the 24 was a fighter.
At least 12 civilians, including two children, were killed, the highest single-day toll since the truce collapsed this week, the group said. -Russian brokered cease-fire had failed, and United Nations officials reported many dead and seriously wounded.
“I call on every country to cease providing support of any kind to any party that is trying to sabotage this plan”, Kerry said.
“This is not a joke”, Kerry exclaimed, urging all to stop the “word games that duck responsibility or avoid the choices. with respect to war and peace, life and death”. The U.N. estimates 6 million Syrians live in besieged and hard-to-reach areas.
However, Kerry warned that it could be the last chance to try to end Syria’s civil war – which has killed more than 300,000 people in five years.
In New York on Tuesday, Russian and USA diplomats insisted that the Syrian cease-fire, which went into effect nine days ago, was not dead, despite indications of soaring violence. He cited separate air strikes on Monday that killed four aid workers near Aleppo. According to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu, the ship will soon join Russia’s naval forces in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
“This assault on the humanitarian relief effort in Syria, however, will not discourage WFP from continuing to perform our life-saving service to all people in need across the country”, Ms. Cousin said. He didn’t specify when it will be deployed, but Russian media reports have said the mission is planned for the fall.
The Syrian military said the truce expired Monday night, shortly before presumed Russian or Syrian government jets launched a sustained aerial attack on Aleppo’s opposition-held neighbourhoods.
A day after the U.S., Russian Federation and other powers sought to keep the week-old cease-fire alive, the same actors are debating the conflict in a public setting. Lavrov also said Syrian and Russian forces would not silence their guns until the opposition did the same. Both say they’re committed to fighting the Islamic State group and al-Qaida-linked militants. The UOSSM, which was founded by Syrian expatriates but has now gone worldwide, said more than 700 of its medical personnel have been killed in the Syrian war. The U.N. called it a deliberate attack.
The Obama administration has not supported punitive strikes against the Assad regime for its atrocities against civilians, which would amount to a major USA escalation in the conflict.
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BEIRUT (AP) – An airstrike on a medical facility in northern Syria has killed at least five staff members, the medical relief organization that runs the facility said Wednesday.
