The Russian military says Syrian militants have used a toxic agent against civilians in Aleppo, killing seven and sickening another 23 people.
Advertisement
They also initiated attacks on other government-controlled areas, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported, though a CNN source said fighting had eased in the city’s west.
Fighters and residents inside the besieged city, including children, recently began burning tires in an attempt to hinder aerial attacks as they launched a fierce offensive against government forces.
But CNN sources on the ground and worldwide observers say the corridors do not appear to be in wide use, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry suggested last week that the corridor approach could potentially be a “ruse”.
The group said each attack between July 23 and July 31, including three strikes on hospitals in Aleppo’s eastern half within a 24-hour period, killed patients and “further deprived almost 300,000 people now trapped in eastern Aleppo of life-saving medical care”. “As soon as there is real headway in fighting terrorists, made by the Syrian government and army with our support, the Americans started… demanding that we stop fighting terrorists”, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told RIA-Novosti agency. Terrorist groups such as Islamic State (IS, also known as Daesh), as well as Jabhat Fatah al Sham (previously known as the Nusra Front), both outlawed in Russian Federation and a range of other states, are not part of the deal.
About 50 rebels and dozens of regime troops have been killed since the assault kicked off on Sunday, according to the Observatory.
The Russian military official said that terrorists in the area are hampering the efforts of locals trying to flee the embattled eastern parts of the city.
Weve taken 12 injured people, six other patients have already died from suffocation.
The Britain-based group said it was unclear if the raids on the Marjeh district were carried out by aircraft belonging to the Syrian government or its ally Russian Federation.
They are seeking to capture the southwestern district of Ramussa in a bid to cut off government forces and open a new route into the city for rebels.
The August 1 target date in the transition plan agreed to last December has come and gone, and all Kerry could say at a press conference on Aug. 1 was that the USA would continue to prod Assad and the moderate opposition to agree to a truce and talks on a unity government.
Rebels have held the eastern part of Aleppo for about four years.
The displaced fled to nearby fields, said Abdel Rahman.
The Observatory said at least 13 people, including nine children, were killed in air strikes on the rebel-held east of the city on Friday.
Advertisement
Elsewhere in Aleppo province, the monitor said an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters was advancing inside the Islamic State bastion of Manbij.
