President of the Syrian Coalition Anas Alabdah said that the Assad regime and its allies are committing heinous war crimes in Aleppo and are seeking to obliterate this historic city.
In a meeting with head of the office of the civil defense corps in Aleppo Ibrahim Hilal and director of civil defense in Aleppo Ammar Salmo earlier on Thursday, Alabdah said that civil defense teams should be protected under international laws. He stressed that targeting rescue workers is a war crime.
Alabdah slammed the international community’s failure to shoulder its responsibilities, especially with regards to the protection of civilians. He reiterated calls on Friends of the Syrian people to take a firm and clear position of the brutal attacks by the Assad regime and its allies.
Hilal said that Assad’s forces, backed by Russian aerial cover and the Iranian-backed foreign militias, has launched a barbaric onslaught on Aleppo since September 20, one day after the Assad regime announced the truce was over.
The Russian and Assad regime airstrikes hit almost all the besieged neighborhoods of Aleppo, including densely populated areas, Hilal said. He said that nearly 19 “bunker buster” bombs were used in these airstrikes, causing massive damage to civilian homes and the infrastructure. At least 400 civilians have been killed and 1,700 more injured since September 20, according to Hilal.
Hilal noted that civil defense teams and ambulance crews have been facing big difficulties rescuing victims of the ongoing onslaught on Aleppo because of the intense bombardment. He said that the airstrikes knocked out two civil defense centers in Aleppo, adding that only two centers remained operational, one tasked with extinguishing fire while the other is tasked with rescuing victims from under the rubble of bombed buildings.
Hilal warned that medical and food supplies in the besieged parts of the city, most especially flour, are running low. (Source: Syrian Coalition)