At least 30 civilians were killed and numerous others injured Friday by an airstrike in in Aleppo, while clashes between rebels and regime forces raged on many fronts in the city.
Assad regime, backed by Russia, said on Sptember 22 it was starting a new wide offensive to recapture the rebel-held parts of Aleppo after a week-long ceasefire was declared officially over on Monday. the offensive includes a ground assault, artillery bombardment, and intensive airstrikes.
Since 19 September, more than 500 civilians have been killed and more than 1700 injured in rebel-held areas of Aleppo province, including the besieged eastern part of the city, Civil defense workers said.
About 100 children were among the death toll.
Babiris Meshaal, a civil defense official based in Aleppo, said that a total of 30 civilians had been killed and many others injured in the airstrike.
He added that the warplanes belonged to Russia or Syrian regime.
The aerial bombardment targeted al-Halak, al-Maysar, Sakhour, Zaitonat, and Shekh Fares, the number of the dead is likely to rise according to the serious injuries.
A traumatised toddler who wouldn't let go of the nurse who was treating him.
Heartbreaking!#Aleppo pic.twitter.com/F7rKOsMNAL— Kun Fayakun كن فيكون (@schumelli1) September 30, 2016
Dear world I don't know if she's dead or not
but what I know that your silence give #Assad Approval of the complete murder#HolocaustAleppo pic.twitter.com/888TsyGOqf— Ahmad Alkhatib (@AhmadAlkhtiib) September 30, 2016
It took 4 hours for #Aleppo's civil defense to rescue little Ghazal Qasim. 24 others died. #HolocaustAleppo pic.twitter.com/54fn7pafF4
— Hope Sarout لمياء (@HopeSarout) September 29, 2016
New airstrikes on Idlib
Syrian fighter jets killed 20 people and injured 24 more with vacuum bombs dropped in the northwestern city of Idlib and surrounding districts late on Thursday.
A civil defense official in Idlib, Leys el-Faris, told Anadolu Agency that Syrian jets killed seven people in the city, eight in Carcanaz town and five civilians in the Han Seyhun district.
Faris said rescuers had pulled a number of children’s bodies from the wreckage in Carcanaz.
15 civilians were killed; they are 6 civilians including 4 children and an elderly man were killed wh3en warplanes carried out airstrikes on places at the neighborhood of al-Qosur, al-Mihrab area, the electricity company and near al-Mohafaza area in the city of Idlib, and 9 people including 5 children and 2 citizen women were killed when the warplanes bombed areas in the town of Jarjanaz and the city of Khan Shaykhun.
A #WhiteHelmets miracle. After digging for 4 hours, @SyriaCivilDef hero rescues baby girl from beneath rubble. Then he breaks down in tears. pic.twitter.com/NqdzBKxgXL
— Kenan Rahmani كنان (@KenanRahmani) September 30, 2016
Clashes rage in Aleppo
Assad regime forces and Syrian rebels fought battles in the center of Aleppo and north of the city on Friday
The sides gave conflicting accounts of the outcome of Friday’s fighting.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a regime’s military source said regime forces had captured territory north of Aleppo and buildings in the city center.
Rebel sources, however, denied there had been any additional advances north of the city by Assad regime forces that seized the Handarat camp area north of Aleppo on Thursday. A rebel official said regme forces had advanced in the Suleiman al-Halabi district of central Aleppo, but was then forced to withdraw.
In the city center, the military said it had advanced in the Suleiman al-Halabi district. Rebel officials said troops had moved forward but had subsequently been forced to withdraw.
A Syrian military source said regime forces captured several buildings in the area and were “continuing to chase the remnants of the terrorists fleeing them”.
The Observatory reported heavy bombardment by Assad regime forces and “back and forth” fighting in the Suleiman al-Halabi neighborhood.
The Syrian military source said their forces captured several buildings in the area and were “continuing to chase the remnants of the terrorists fleeing them”.
The rebel official said Assad regime forces had “advanced and then retreated”, losing “a number of dead”. Zakaria al-Malahifji, an official for the Fastaqim rebel group that is present in Aleppo, said the insurgents still controlled the water plant.
The Assad regime forces, backed by Russian air power, Iranian ground forces and Shi’ite militia fighters from Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon, has been tightening its grip on rebel-held districts of Aleppo this year, and this summer achieved a long-held goal of fully encircling the area.
Recovering full control of the rebels’ last significant urban area would be the most important victory of the war so far for Assad, strengthening his control over Syria’s most populous and strategically important regions.
The Syrian crisis began as a peaceful demonstration against the injustice in Syria. Assad regime used to fire power and violence against the civilians and led to armed resistance. 450.000 Syrians lost their lives in the past five years according to UN estimates, and more than 12 million have lost their homes.
