Activists in Aleppo province said that at least 78 civilians have been killed and dozens more wounded in the past 24 hours in one of the deadliest blitz of aerial and artillery bombardment in recent weeks. The victims included 15 children and 10 women, while rescue workers said that death toll is likely to rise.
The victims included 12 in the neighborhood of Alsha’ar in eastern Aleppo, 11 in Alsukkari, 5 in Alshakhour, 3 in Alsaliheen, 2 in each of Alansari and Alfirdous, and one in each of Masaqin Hanano and Tariq Albab.
Activists said that towns and villages in Aleppo countryside have been hammered by aerial and artillery bombing. The fiercest airstrikes targeted the town of Batbo where 21 civilians were killed and many more injured. Dozens more were also killed in airstrikes on the town of Daret Izza and Injara, while 15 people are still missing. Rescue workers are still trying to pull victims from under the rubble.
Activists in besieged eastern Aleppo said that the Assad regime and Russian aircraft do not leave the skies of the city, adding that the Assad regime openly threatened to wipe out the eastern parts of the city if residents refused to leave.
The ferocious onslaught on Aleppo came on day after Russia announced it was formally withdrawing its signature from the founding statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Officials in the Syrian Coalition said that the Russian move is designed “to evade accountability for the war crimes its forces are committing against civilians in Syria.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has sent an urgent letter to the UN Secretary-General, President of the UN General Assembly, and the President of the Security Council urging action to address the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria.
The letter was on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and other countries and called for an end to the violations by the Assad regime against unarmed civilians.
The letter expressed deep concern about the worsening humanitarian situation in Syria, stressing the urgent need to allow the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid and medical assistance to civilians in need in line with Security Council resolutions. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Office)
