The United States and Russian Federation are to chair a meeting in NY later on Thursday of the 23-nation International Syria Support Group (ISSG), which brings together world powers with a stake in the civil war.
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Sen. Ben CardinBen CardinTop Dem: “Risk factor” to extending Iran sanctions in lame duck Senate rejects push to block Saudi arms sale Pentagon: No US aircraft flying during Syrian convoy attack MORE (D-Md.), ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said if found to be deliberate, the attack would amount to a war crime.
A man runs with a stretcher at a damaged site after air strikes on the opposition-held al-Qaterji neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria September 21, 2016.
The non-partisan humanitarian rescue group released pictures on social media showing the destruction from this mornings fresh round of airstrikes.
When asked what would happen next if the process completely collapsed, the official said it was something the United States was “giving a lot of thought to”.
In a late night announcement on Thursday, the Syrian military announced “the start of its operations in the eastern districts of Aleppo”, and warned people to stay away from “the headquarters and positions of the armed terrorist gangs”.
It also said there were procedures in place for those who wanted to “return to the bosom of the nation”.
Around 250,000 people live in eastern Aleppo, which was captured by the rebels in 2012.
The Syrian military could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday, and there was no word on casualties.
The UN has estimated that roughly 600,000 people are stuck in Syria’s 18 besieged areas.
As heavy air raids continued in Syria especially in and around Aleppo after the collapse of a week-long ceasefire, the UK Foreign Secretary spoke to reporters outside the UN Security Council meeting in NY.
While the USA and Russian Federation have previously jousted over proposed resolutions critical of the Syrian government, Wednesday’s agenda didn’t even include a suggested course of action.
“The food will be expiring on Monday”, the head of the United Nations humanitarian taskforce for Syria, Jan Egeland, told reporters in Geneva. It included a nationwide truce, improved humanitarian aid access and the possibility of joint military operations against al-Qaeda-linked groups and the banned Islamist groups.
The attacks came hours after Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad claimed he bears no responsibility for the hundreds of thousands of people killed during the six years of civil war, and said war was likely to “drag on” because of continued external support for his opponents.
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Kerry accused Russia of disobeying the terms of the cease-fire agreement, adding that negotiations can not go anywhere when the Russians are “denying the truth”. Despite an attack on an aid convoy this week, Kerry still claimed that a ceasefire negotiated with his Russian counterpart Sergey V. Lavrov just 12 days ago, still held.
