WEST KURDISTAN (SYRIA) MESOP Syria Daily: Deadly Russian-Regime Bombing of Aleppo on Friday

by Scott Lucas 23 April  2016 – In a surge of bombing on Friday, Russian and regime warplanes bombed opposition-held areas of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, killing at least 18 people and wounding more than 40.Attacks on Aleppo, where thousands of people have been killed by airstrikes in the past year, had diminished since a February 27 cessation of hostilities. Russia, which began strikes on September 30, had halted their operations.

However, foreign allies such as Iran and Hezbollah are facing an offensive by rebels and Jabhat al-Nusra south of Aleppo city. To the north, the Syrian military and its partners have been frustrated in attempts to take territory, cutting off the main route to opposition sections of the city.So on Friday, Russia rejoined the regime’s bombing, including areas such as Bustan al-Qasr, Layramoun, Sukkari, Saleheddin, and al-Ansari. North of the city, the warplanes targeted the al-Castello road and the route near Handarat.

The White Helmets civil defense organization said of the assault on Aleppo and far beyond:

Today has been the worst day in Syria for over a year. Attacks are everywhere….Tracking attacks in Aleppo, Idlib, Homs and Damascus. Furious intensity. Teams report streets littered with bodies….We return to work with sadness and heavy hearts.

Scenes from Aleppo: The attacks came as political talks were collapsing in Geneva. The opposition-rebel bloc said earlier this week that it was formally suspending participation because of regime sieges, bombing, and detentions.  The regime delegation met UN envoy Staffan de Mistura but showed no sign of lifting its refusal to discuss the future of President Assad and a transitional governing authority. Instead the head of the delegation, UN Ambassador Bashar al-Ja’afari defended the regime over its continuing refusal to allow aid to areas across Syria.Ja’afari insisted that aid has been delivered on 42 occasions, in a total of 219 trucks, into “unstable or restive” areas in the last four months.The ambassador cited a Wednesday convoy of 65 trucks into Rastan in Homs Province, which had not received aid since 2012. However, he did not speak of other towns which continue to be blockaded, such as Darayya, southwest of Damascus. www.mesop.de