Syrian regime, Russian jets kill 85 civilians in Aleppo

By Halit Suleyman

ALEPPO, Syria

At least 85 people were killed and 178 others injured Sunday in Syrian regime and Russia airstrikes on residential areas in Aleppo, a civil defense official told Anadolu Agency.

Najib Ansari said regime’s helicopters and warplanes, along with Russian jets, pounded al-Kallasa, Bustan al-Basha, Ard al Hamra, Tariq al-Bab, Mesir, Zinbdie, Salihiya and Ansar neighborhoods in Aleppo, all of which are currently under siege by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Numerious children and women were among those killed. The attacks were in residential areas controlled by opposition forces with “15 phosphorous and 18 vacuum bombs,” Ansari said.

“A total of 244 civilians have lost their lives and 651 others were injured on Russian and regime forces attacks against Aleppo within the last three days,” Ansari said, adding that tens of residential areas were damaged with several houses destroyed. “The infrastructure of the city has collapsed,” he said.

On Saturday, 92 civilians were killed and 273 injured by the regime and Russian airstrikes in the northwestern city.

Sunday’s attacks come after the international community strongly condemned recent attacks on civilians in Aleppo.

Since the Assad regime announced the end of a cease-fire Sept. 19, a total of 444 people have been killed and 1,585 others injured.

Late Saturday, the EU decried the recent attacks as “unacceptable breach of international humanitarian law,” while on Sunday, Turkey condemned airstrikes by the Syrian regime and "its supporters" on residential areas saying: "Through these attacks, the Syrian regime mercilessly kills its own people, and targets in particular humanitarian facilities such as hospitals, pumping stations, and emergency response centers.”

Also, Saturday, the foreign ministers of France, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the High Representative of the European Union issued a joint statement that put the onus on Russia to revive the cease-fire.

"The devastating events in Syria this week underscore what we have been saying for some time: the burden is on Russia to prove it is willing and able to take extraordinary steps to salvage diplomatic efforts to restore a cessation of hostilities (CoH), allow unfettered humanitarian assistance and create the conditions necessary for the resumption of UN-led talks about a political transition," a joint statement said.

"The outrageous bombing of a humanitarian convoy, the Syrian regime's public denunciation of the CoH, continuing reports that the regime is using chemical weapons, and the unacceptable ongoing regime offensive on eastern Aleppo, supported by Russia, blatantly contradicts Russia’s claim that it supports a diplomatic resolution," it said.

"We reaffirm our commitment to the destruction of Da'esh in Syria and Iraq and urge Russia to follow through on its pledge to actually focus on this group. We also reaffirm our shared view that the Nusra Front, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, is a terrorist organization and an enemy of the international community," it added.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests – which had erupted as part of the Arab Spring uprisings – with unexpected ferocity.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research, a Beirut-based NGO, has put the death toll from the six-year-old conflict at more than 470,000.