ALEPPO // More than 300 civilians have been killed in a three-week surge of fighting and bombardment in the devastated city of Aleppo city. The battle for Syria’s second city has killed 333 civilians since July 31, when rebels launched a major push to break a government siege of districts under their control.
The toll of dead includes 165 civilians — among them 49 children — killed by the opposition firing on the city’s government-held western districts, which is home to 1.2 million people.
Another 168 civilians died in air strikes by Russian and Syrian government forces and shelling on the city’s eastern neighbourhoods, where some 250,000 people live under rebel control. Another 109 people were killed in bombardments across the rest of Aleppo province during the same period, according to the UK-based monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which collates information from a network of sources inside Syria.
Once Syria’s economic hub, Aleppo city has been ripped apart by violence since mid-2012, with warplanes bombarding the east and rockets raining down on the west. In September 2015, Russia initiated air raids in support of President Bashar Al Assad’s forces.
On Saturday, the intense pounding of Aleppo’s southern edges was audible throughout the city. The violence rendered the rebel route out of Aleppo — via the southern district of Ramussa — temporarily impassable and lorries laden with much-needed food and other produce were unable to come into the city. “There are a lot of clashes and air strikes, and the regime made modest advances. They are trying to reinforce their positions,” said the head of the Observatory, Rami Abdel Rahman.
In another escalation of the five-year war, government aircraft this week began bombing Kurdish positions for the first time in the north-eastern city of Hasakeh, of which two-thirds is under Kurdish control. The bombardment of Hasakeh continued throughout the night into Saturday, despite a warning from Washington to the Russians not to put the lives of US military advisers at risk. The Russians denied all responsibility, saying the planes were Syrian, and the American-led coalition was forced to scramble aircraft for the first time in response to government action.
Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said, “We will ensure their safety and the Syrian regime would be well-advised not to do things that place them at risk ... We view instances that place the coalition at risk with the utmost seriousness and we do have the inherent right of self-defence.”
But the Pentagon warning appeared to fall on deaf ears as the Assad regime had turned its fire directly on to Kurdish-held territory, even though the government and the Kurds share a common enemy in ISIL. The relentless harrying of Hasakeh left 41 people dead, i25 of them civilians with 10 children among them, and sent thousands fleeing from the city, where electricity has been cut and bread is running out.
A Syrian military statement said the army had taken the “appropriate response” after Kurdish forces attacked Hasakeh.
A government source in Hasakeh said the air strikes were “a message to the Kurds that they should stop this sort of demand,” after Kurds called for the dissolution of a pro-regime militia.
Washington regards the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) as the most effective fighting force against IS in Syria and has provided them with air support as well as the military advisers.
US special operations forces were based around six kilometres (nearly four miles) north of Hasakeh and reinforcements arrived Friday “from inside and outside Syria, accompanied by military helicopters”, Abdel Rahman said.
In a separate incident, the Russian defence ministry said two of its ships in the Mediterranean launched long-range cruise missiles against extremist targets in Syria on Friday, for the fist time since December..
The targets were linked to the former Al-Nusra Front, now Fateh Al-Sham Front, the ministry said.
Despite the warnings from Washington, America’s Nato ally Turkey is willing to accept a role for Syrian President Bashar Assad during a transitional period. But Turkish prime minister Binali Yildirim stressed Mr Assad has no place in Syria’s future.
Speaking in Istanbul, Mr Yildirim said that Turkey would aim to become more of a regional player with regard to Syria in the next six months.
Turkey is one of the main supporters of rebels fighting to overthrow Assad, and hosts more than 2.7 million Syrian refugees.
“Could Syria carry Assad in the long-term? Certainly not,” Yildirim said. “The United States knows and Russia knows that Assad does not appear to be someone who can bring (the people) together.”
“There may be talks (with Assad) for the transition. A transition may be facilitated. But we believe that there should be no (Kurdish rebels), Daesh or Assad in Syria’s future,” he said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIL.
Turkey, which is battling a Kurdish insurgency, is concerned about the growing power of Syrian Kurdish forces across the border and opposes any moves toward Kurdish autonomy or independence.
“In the six months ahead of us, we shall be playing a more active role,” Yildirim said. “It means not allowing Syria to be divided along ethnic lines ... ensuring that its government is not based on ethnic (divisions).”
Yildirim also denied news reports that Russia was seeking to use Turkey’s southern airbase of Incirlik for its operations in Syria. The base is currently being used by the US.-led coalition against IS.
“They have no request for Incirlik,” Yildirim said. “I don’t think they have a need for Incirlik. Because they already have two bases in Syria.”
* Associated Press