Dozens of Airstrikes Pound Aleppo, At Least 85 Reported Killed Today
- three day death toll since Friday is around 200
- Syrian officials say their goal is an outright ground invasion of eastern Aleppo
- no single faction has held the entire city of Aleppo since 2012
Ceasefire Turns into a Land Grab Opportunity
The West is accusing the Russians of enabling Syrian forces to continue bombing during the ceasefire. Russia accuses the West of not living up to its responsibilities during the ceasefire. Russia also justifies its actions by stating the terrorists are using the ceasefire as cover to regroup.
Battle Lines as of the Ceasefire
Russia Accused of War Crimes, Defends Itself
The Kremlin lashed out after British and American diplomats accused Moscow of "barbarism" over its on-going bombardment of the Syrian city of Aleppo.
“We note the overall unacceptable tone and rhetoric of the representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States, which can damage and harm our relations," Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, said on Monday.
"Terrorists are using the cease-fire regime to regroup, to replenish their arsenals and for obvious preparations to carry out attacks," Mr Peskov said.
The latest rupture in Moscow’s relations with the West came as a fresh wave of Russian and Syria regime air strikes battered opposition-held eastern districts of Aleppo, in what medics there called the worst bombing in five years of war.
Syria: bombs rain down on civilians in Aleppo as troops prepare to retake the city
Authored byJason Ditz | Heavy airstrikes that began in earnest on Friday continued into Sunday evening in the north Syrian city of Aleppo, with dozens of additional strikes against the Nusra Front-held eastern half of the city reported, overwhelming hospitals with more casualties.
Accurate figures are often difficult to obtain from the area, but the Western-backed Aleppo Media Center, bankrolled by French and US governments, reported at least 85 more people killed on Sunday, and 300 more wounded, putting the death toll over the three day period to around 200.
The airstrikes are adding to an already shaky humanitarian situation in Aleppo, with reports on Saturday that water to the entire metro area of Aleppo was knocked out by damage around a pumping station in the rebel areas. The repairs weren’t completed, by all accounts, but the water was again flowing within a few hours.
In addition to shortages in supplies, doctors are in increasingly short supply in the Nusra areas, with only about 30 left according to some accounts. With hundreds of wounded coming in seemingly by the day, the hospitals are short-staffed and overrun.
Syrian officials say their goal is an outright ground invasion of eastern Aleppo, though there is as yet no indication when that will begin. No single faction has held the entire city of Aleppo since 2012, though it is so heavily damaged at this point it is unclear how valuable it would be.
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