“At this point the Russians have to demonstrate very quickly their seriousness of objective because otherwise there will be nothing to extend and nothing to salvage”, the official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, added.
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However, upon a question from Anadolu Agency, the U.S. State Department said it would stand by previous statements which urged Moscow to fulfill its ceasefire commitments, including getting the Syrian government to permit unimpeded aid access.
“There is no truth to reports circulated by some media outlets that (the) Syrian army targeted the humanitarian aid convoy in rural Aleppo (governorate)”, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported, quoting a military source.
Wreckage of Syrian Red Crescent aid trucks after they were hit by airstrikes at Urum al-Kubra region in Aleppo.
An attack on a convoy carrying humanitarian supplies in the Aleppo area of Syria appeared to be an air strike, but it was not carried out by coalition jets, US Central Command spokesman Colonel John Thomas says.
“The video clearly shows how terrorists are redeploying a pickup with a large-caliber mortar on it using the convoy as a cover”, Maj.
“We are in a position to say that the convoy was attacked”, United Nations humanitarian spokesman Jens Laerke said.
United States officials have demanded that Russia take responsibility for what they said was an air strike on a United Nations aid convoy near the northern city of Aleppo by either Russian or Syrian warplanes. Unicef remains committed to deliver aid to the more than six million children and their families who are in desperate need of help.
EFFORTS to send relief to desperate war-hit families were in tatters after as many as 20 aid workers were killed in a “war crime” air strike.
The US had already made it clear on Monday night that it held Moscow responsible for the deaths, regardless of whose planes carried out the strike.
Monday night’s attack came just hours after Syrian authorities declared an end to a fragile ceasefire in the war-torn country. The humanitarians delivering life-saving aid were heroes.
“The airstrikes are not a reason to stop the convoy”, an official from the U.N. Special Envoy to Syria’s office replied on Sunday, conveying what the official said was the position of a representative of the U.N. Department of Political Affairs and suggesting that some people around the special envoy disagreed with that stance. “This was an outrageous action”, Rhodes told CNN’s Michelle Kosinski. Much of that aid had been destroyed, they said. The area west of the city is reportedly rebel held. Instead, they say it was rebels that must’ve attacked the convoy or started a fire.
Ibrahim Alhaj said that Syrian civilians will pay the price for the decision – and that the United Nations should have condemned the attacks on the convoy rather than suspending aid.
Russia’s military also attempted to undermine the account of activists who provided video evidence of the attack.
Victims of the strike included the local director of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, Omar Barakat.
ICRC also said it was suspending its operations in Aleppo for three days.
On Saturday, Russia said that United States jets had killed more than 60 Syrian soldiers. The deadly incident capped a rapid unraveling of week-old truce efforts brokered by the United States and Russian Federation.
The Russian defence ministry has denied any role in the attack, attempting to point the finger at rebels against Bashar Al Assad’s Syrian regime.
Following the attack, a senior Obama administration official said of the ceasefire: “We don’t know if it can be salvaged”.
Syria’s beleaguered opposition sneered at this, branding the global community weak for not immediately taking action against Bashar al-Assad’s regime for breaking the truce.
The SOHR said at least 32 people in total were killed in separate attacks in Aleppo and its western suburbs on Monday.
The Syrian and Russian militaries both denied on Tuesday they were involved in the attack.
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During his United Nations speech, French President Francois Hollande criticized the inaction in Syria, saying, “The Syrian tragedy will be seen by history as a disgrace for the global community if we do not end it quickly”.
