Turkey condemns recent civilian deaths in Aleppo, Syria

ANKARA

Turkey condemned Sunday recent airstrikes by the Syrian regime and "its supporters" on residential areas in opposition-held parts of Syria’s northwestern city of Aleppo.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said it strongly condemned the attacks over the past few days targeting Aleppo, which killed over 300 civilians, injuring hundreds more.

"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.

"These attacks, committed at a time of intense efforts including Turkey and others to put in place a new cease-fire, has shown once again that the Syrian regime and its supporters do not intend to find a political solution," the statement said.

These acts are not only war crimes, but also grave crimes against humanity, and constitute a serious violation of international law, it added.

Aleppo has recently come under intense attacks by regime and Russian forces, with the latest attacks on Saturday killing over 90, and injuring more than 270 civilians.

Since Sept. 19, when the Syrian regime declared the end of a week-long cease-fire, at least 359 civilians have been killed and 1,407 injured by the Assad regime and Russian airstrikes on Aleppo, according to civil defense officials and medical sources in the city.

The attacks have targeted districts in the eastern part of Aleppo besieged by regime forces.

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 nongovernmental organization, has put the death toll from the six-year-old conflict at more than 470,000.