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USA demands Syrian aircraft stop flying in opposition zones

The renewed fighting demonstrates the slim prospects for reviving the truce that collapsed into fresh fighting and bombardments on Monday.

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Then the Russian ambassador said Syrian forces were targeting Khan Tuman, a village in northern Syria.

At least 20 civilians died in what witnesses have described as an aerial attack on a humanitarian convoy of aid lorries near Aleppo.

Kerry criticized Syrian President Bashar Assad, arguing continued aggression from his forces could finish the country.

The five-year conflict in Syria has left more than 400,000 people dead, according to United Nations special envoy Staffan de Mistura. Focused on protecting key aid routes in northern Syria, it was unclear if Russian Federation and Syria would agree.

What has the United Nations said?

The Russian military says a USA drone was flying over the area when an aid convoy was attacked in Syria on Monday.

Ban Ki-Moon, the outgoing United Nations secretary general, called the attack “sickening, savage and apparently deliberate”.

“Powerful patrons, feeding the war machine, also have blood on their hands”, he said.

“None of our aircraft – manned or unmanned, USA or coalition – were anywhere in the vicinity of Aleppo when the strike against the humanitarian convoy occurred”, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said.

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.

Russia’s defence ministry released drone footage late on Tuesday that it said showed a pickup, carrying militants and hauling a heavy mortar, driving alongside the convoy before it was bombed.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said hope for a renewal of the ceasefire was “for now, very weak”, stressing that a truce could only be resumed if “terrorists” halted their fire. “Only its owners know why the drone was in the area at the right time and what kind of tasks it was pursuing there”. The U.S. has said that successful joint operations with Russian Federation in Syria against extremist groups could lead to a political transition away from the Assad regime.

Konashenkov said they have evidence an American attack drone was also in the area, and appeared there just before the attack on the convoy began.

Speaking before Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the United States had not done enough to rein in Syrian rebels under its influence, adding that Syrian government troop withdrawals had not been matched with rebel retreats.

“Otherwise nothing will happen”, he added, “There will not be any unilateral pauses”.

On Sunday, ISIS shot down another Syrian jet in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

Kerry described the global community’s pending response to the aid convoy attack as a “moment of truth”. The agency says the plane crashed in an area controlled by either the government or rebel factions, indicating it would not have pictures of the aircraft. He added that bombing attacks on hospitals and children are “flagrant violations of worldwide law”.

However, Kerry says he still believes there is a way forward “out of the carnage” in Syria.

According to the World Heath Organisation, Syria is the most risky country in the world for health professionals, with 135 strikes on clinics and hospitals previous year.

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John Kerry said Syria was the greatest human catastrophe since the Second World War.

John Kerry