MESOP News Roundup: Monday, April 13 / Regime barrel bombs on Aleppo

The regime continued its bombing of rebel-controlled areas in Aleppo city and the countryside for the third day in a row Monday, targeting civilian installations against the backdrop of Syria’s Grand Mufti reportedly calling for the “total extermination” of any area used to launch attacks against Aleppo.

Helicopters dropped barrel bombs on the Al-Maadi neighborhood Monday with the number of casualties still unknown, reported pro-opposition Halab Today. At least seven people from a single family died in the same neighborhood Sunday from the bombs, which fell indiscriminately, reported pro-opposition Sham News Network. The regime targeted a school in the al-Ansari neighborhood Sunday, killing 10 students and three female teachers, Samir Dhuh, a reporter with pro-opposition Itihad Press, told Syria Direct Monday. “The area where the school is located is a heavily populated, liberated area, and no FSA or other headquarters is located there,” Nabih Uthman, head of the Free Syrian Engineers Union, told Syria Direct Monday. In an audio clip widely circulated on pro-opposition news outlets Sunday, Syria’s Grand Mufti calls for the “total extermination” of areas used to launch attacks on regime positions in Aleppo city. The authenticity of the clip could not be verified.