The military operation, conducted by Syrian forces, formally marks the end of a short-lived ceasefire that sought to quell violence, coordinate efforts to defeat ISIS and allow aid to enter the besieged city.
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In an official statement quoted by a state news agency on Thursday, the Syrian army announced fresh aerial campaigns in Aleppo and asked civilians to avoid “terrorist positions”.
Another of the White Helmets’ centers in eastern Aleppo was rendered unusable by the strikes, according to a member of the group who spoke to CBS News, but it wasn’t clear whether that was the second facility referred to by Alhaj.
Fighter aircraft pounded the rebel-held parts of Aleppo on Friday after the Syrian Army declared an offensive, Reuters reported. Five of the victims were in al-Sukkari and 15 others in Bustan al-Qasr and Kallasseh.
Activists say at least 12 people were killed in presumed government or Russian airstrikes and shelling on the eastern quarters on Thursday. He maintained deadly airstrikes by the USA -led coalition on Syrian troops last weekend were intentional, dismissing American officials’ statements that they were an accident. He described the meeting as “intense”.
But the deal collapsed Monday after the US inadvertently struck a Syrian regime camp killing 62 regime soldiers. Both Russia and the USA agreed to use their influence on the western-backed rebels and the Syrian government to stick to the truce.
Diplomatic efforts to end Syria’s war were set to continue in NY with a new meeting on Thursday of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), chaired by Moscow and Washington. 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. While the U.S. spoke of a “mistake”, Damascus called the incident “blatant aggression”.
“The offensive on Aleppo just shows why we need Syrian planes grounded, otherwise there will be no truce”, Mr Ayrault said.
While both sides continue to blame each other for violating the terms, Kerry said neither the US nor Russian Federation have come to an agreement about a way forward.
A senior administration official told reporters in a conference call that Russian Federation would need to take “extraordinary steps” to get the process back on track.
Secretary of State John Kerry has called for all warplanes to halt flights over aid routes in Syria.
“We remain absolutely convinced there is no such thing as a military solution”, Kerry said.
The Syrian air force, since Monday has stepped up its bombing of rebel-held areas, and both Russian Federation and Syria have been implicated in the attack on the relief convoy which has been deemed a potential war crime by the UN.
Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Gaziantep on the Turkish side of the Syria-Turkey border, said aid had been sent to Moadamiyeh, a besieged suburb of Damascus.
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ASSAD: He said “even the United Nations said that there were no airstrikes against that convoy”.
