ALEPPO // Syrian warplanes resumed fresh raids on the last rebel-held districts in Aleppo on Friday after a brief humanitarian pause that never was.
Syria’s ally, Russia, declared a suspension in combat operations from Thursday to allow civilians to leave eastern Aleppo. But Syrian troops and allied forces continued shelling making evacuations impossible and by Friday afternoon, a full-on assault was again underway with Russia vowing it would continue until the city was cleared of opposition fighters.
“After a humanitarian pause, [the strikes] have resumed and will continue for as long as the bandits are still in Aleppo,” said Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking after yet another unproductive series of meetings with his American counterpart, secretary of state John Kerry.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict via a network of on-the-ground sources, reported at least a dozen air strikes on rebel-held neighbourhoods on Friday afternoon, which came on top of artillery strikes throughout the preceding night, during the supposed suspension of combat.
It is now three weeks since the Syrian army launched the definitive battle to recapture all remaining opposition-held sectors of Aleppo, after encircling those areas in July. At least 409 civilians, including 45 children have been killed in the government’s assault, while rebel fire on government-held areas killed another 113 people, including 35 child The forces of president Bashar Al Assad have taken about 85 per cent of territory previously held by opposition fighters. Rebel forces and civilians still in east Aleppo are confined to a shrinking space in even grimmer conditions. increasingly grim conditions.
With the bombardment now constant food – which was already scarce – is now even more difficult to come by as shopkeepers dare not open their shops. There are reports from one neighbourhood of bodies lying in the street because it is too dangerous for anyone to go out and retrieve them.
All diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire have floundered, despite repeated discussions between Washington and Moscow, which back opposing sides in the conflict. On Friday Mr Lavrov said he hoped a truce deal could be reached soon and said military experts and diplomats would meet on Saturday in Geneva to work out details of the rebels’ exit from Aleppo’s eastern neighbourhoods, along with civilians who are willing to leave the city.
Mr Larov and Mr Kerry met three times in 24 hours in Hamburg, Germany, and when asked if there was any progress, Mr Kerry replied enigmatically, “We’re working on something.”
The UN general assembly voted 122 to 13 on Friday to demand an immediate cessation of hostilities in Syria, humanitarian aid access throughout the country and an end to all sieges, including in Aleppo, but was swiftly dismissed by the British ambassador as “too little, too late.”
Thirty-six countries abstained in the vote on the Canadian-drafted resolution. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported ISIL militants advancing to within four kilometres of government positions in the countryside around the historic city of Palmyra, in central Syria, killing 15 Syrian and allied fighters.
ISIL’s Aamaq News Agency distributed video showing what it says were Syrian soldiers fleeing their positions in the badlands west of Palmyra.
ISIL took Palmyra, a designated Unesco World Heritage site, in May last year and systematically destroyed temples and tower tombs dating back to ancient Roman times. Government forces with Russian backing recaptured the desert city in March to great fanfare. Since then, however, the government has concentrated on fighting the opposition around Damascus and Aleppo.
Also in Palmyra, an air raid by the US-led coalition destroyed a fleet of 168 oil tankers being used by the ISIL to ferry illicit fuel in Syria.
The coalition said it is systematically targeting the oil infrastructure used by ISIL and the Palmyra air raid, which occurred on Thursday, resulted in estimated lost revenue of more than $2 million.
“Stopping or severely hampering (ISIL) cash flow degrades their ability to fund the war effort in Iraq and Syria and terrorist attacks around the world,” the coalition said in a statement.
IS fighters launched simultaneous attacks on several government positions in the eastern desert of Homs province, including areas near the Mahr and Shaar oil and gasfields. The extremists seized government checkpoints, silos and the village of Jazal, north-west of Palmyra, in the continuing assault,
According to the Syrian Observatory, the current assault is the first time in months that ISIL has seized territory since being driven out of most parts of the province.
* Associated Press