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Aleppo airstrikes resume as Russia announces major Syria offensive Aleppo airstrikes resume as Russia announces major Syria offensive
(about 3 hours later)
Pro-Assad forces have launched a fierce air bombardment on rebel-held areas of eastern Aleppo after several weeks of relative calm and as Russia announced that its aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov would anchor a major operation in Syria. Pro-Assad forces have intensified attacks on Syrian rebels, launching a fierce aerial bombardment of besieged eastern Aleppo and missile strikes from a Russian aircraft carrier stationed off the coast, the day after US president-elect Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke by phone.
People inside the city reported a heavy pace of attacks, and rights groups confirmed at least three people had died within a few hours. The two men discussed “regulating the conflict in Syria” and the need to combat “international terrorism and extremism”, the Russian president’s office said in a statement.
The attacks on rebel-held areas of east Aleppo came after weeks of relative calm in the city itself, with bombing raids instead focused on the surrounding rural areas. The raids killed at least three people within a few hours, rights groups said.
“Regime aircraft launched strikes and dropped barrel bombs on a number of neighbourhoods in the east of Aleppo for the first time since 18 October,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.“Regime aircraft launched strikes and dropped barrel bombs on a number of neighbourhoods in the east of Aleppo for the first time since 18 October,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Residents of besieged neighbourhoods shared videos of bombs falling on the city. Bombing raids on countryside around Aleppo targeted three hospitals on Monday, and began again on Tuesday before the city itself was hit, they said. Residents of besieged neighbourhoods shared videos of bombs falling on the city. Three hospitals in the Aleppo countryside were targeted on Monday, and attacks on surrounding areas had begun before jets and helicopters hit the city itself, they said.
The attacks on Aleppo came just hours after the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, discussed Syria with the US president-elect, Donald Trump. They agreed on the need to combine their fights in the battle against “international terrorism and extremism”, Putin’s office said in a statement.
The Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, said Russia had launched new missile strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria, using missiles and jets flying from the Admiral Kuznetsov, which made a much-publicised trip from Russia to Syria last month.
He did not mention Aleppo, where Russian bombing has been particularly controversial. Isis have virtually no presence there and both the extreme suffering of trapped civilians and the power of munitions launched against them have prompted international outcry.
Aleppo was once Syria’s largest city, its cultural and commercial hub, but whole districts have been virtually abandoned over years of intense street fighting, and many parts of the east have been bombed into rubble. It is also being starved by a slowly tightening siege, broken only briefly in the summer.
A semblance of normal life continues in the city’s west. Regaining full control would be a huge boost for forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, for its symbolic value and because it is the only major urban area still controlled by the opposition.
Assad’s forces, backed by Iranian and other Shia militias and Russian air power, are battling mostly Sunni rebels, who get some backing from Turkey, the US and Gulf states.
Syrian state television said the air force had carried out strikes against what it called terrorist strongholds and supply depots in Aleppo.
Bana Alabed, seven, whose mother tweets daily updates of life under occupation, said she had counted at least 20 bombs landing on the city, just a couple of hours into the attack.Bana Alabed, seven, whose mother tweets daily updates of life under occupation, said she had counted at least 20 bombs landing on the city, just a couple of hours into the attack.
Since it started, over 20 bombs fell. - Fatemah #AleppoSince it started, over 20 bombs fell. - Fatemah #Aleppo
“Our houses are shaking from the pressure. Planes are soaring above us and the bombardment is around us,” said Modar Shekho, a resident of eastern Aleppo. Activist Baraa al-Halaby, who is based in eastern Aleppo, said via text messages that jets were targeting the city with conventional weapons and helicopters dropping improvised barrel bombs. “People are scared. The bombardment is intense.”
Activist Baraa al-Halaby, who is based in eastern Aleppo, said via text messages that war planes were firing missiles and helicopters were dropping barrel bombs. “People are scared. The bombardment is intense.” The Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, said Russia had launched new missile strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria’s Idlib province, using missiles and jets flying from its aircraft carrier the Admiral Kuznetsov, which made a much-publicised trip from Russia to Syria last month.
The Syrian army and its allies managed to besiege eastern Aleppo this summer and launched a major offensive backed by a heavy bombardment in September, but in recent weeks Moscow has said it was observing a pause in airstrikes. He did not mention Aleppo, where Russian bombing has been particularly controversial. Isis have virtually no presence there and both the extreme suffering of over 200,000 civilians trapped in the city and the extent of bombing raids against them have prompted international outcry.
Ibrahim Abu al-Laith, a civil defence official in the city, said on Tuesday: “It’s all airstrikes and parachute bombs. Today, the bombing is violent … There hasn’t been this kind of attack in more than 15 days.” A Russian defence ministry spokesman denied its planes were hitting Aleppo. The improvised barrel bombs described by al Halaby are a hallmark tactic of the Syrian government, and state television said the Syrian air force had carried out strikes against what it called “terrorist strongholds” in Aleppo.
But the attacks were part of a wider offensive in which Russia is playing a key role and the UK International Development Secretary, Priti Patel, effectively accused the Russian government of complicity in the attacks, by calling on Moscow to stop them.
“Russia must call a halt to the new wave of bombs hitting the besieged city of Aleppo,” she said in a statement, describing the bombardment as a “sickening” violation of international law.
“This will only worsen an already desperate humanitarian situation. I urge Russia and the Asad regime to prove that they can show restraint.”
Patel also called on the government and Assad to allow supplies of food and medicine into the city, where supplies are running low after more than three months under siege.
Charity War Child warned that the US election had distracted attention from suffering in the city, and called on the UK prime minister, Theresa May, to put more pressure on Syria and Russia to halt the bombing.
“She must consider implementing targeted sanctions against those who commit war crimes, the introduction of a ‘no-fly’ zone to end helicopter attacks on civilian areas, and a ‘no-bombing’ zone in which the regime’s military infrastructure would be targeted in response to any further attacks on civilians,” it said in a statement.
Aleppo was once Syria’s largest city, its cultural and commercial hub, but whole districts have been virtually abandoned over years of intense street fighting, and many parts of the east have been bombed into rubble. It is also being starved by a slowly tightening siege, broken only briefly in the summer.
A semblance of normal life continues in the city’s west. Regaining full control would be a huge boost for forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, for its symbolic value and because it is the only major urban area still controlled by the opposition.
Assad’s forces, backed by Iranian and other Shia militias and Russian air power, have used a policy of bombing the opposition to the negotiating table, while starving communities that support them into surrender.
They appear to be using the same tactics in Aleppo, where the scale of the suffering provoked international outrage, and pressure to end the attacks in recent weeks.Anti-Assad rebels fear Trump’s election could seal their fate, because of his relationship with Putin and isolationist views, or at the very least give the Syrian president and his backers a freer hand to continue their campaign.