Aleppo hit by airstrikes despite Syria ceasefire, monitor says
Rebel-held areas come under fire, leaving several people wounded, while residents still wait for vital aid
Four airstrikes hit rebel-held parts of Aleppo on Sunday, a monitor group said, in the first raids on the battered Syrian city since a truce came into force.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said several people were wounded but could not immediately give details about casualties or identify who carried out the strikes.
A halt to fighting around Aleppo and the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid were key components of the fragile truce that began on September 13. Despite several alleged breaches, the truce had led to calm in the city and last week, the Syrian army announced that it would observe a freeze on fighting until midnight on September 19.
But while the front lines remained calm, civilians in the besieged eastern quarters were yet to receive promised food assistance.
The estimated 250,000 people in the eastern half of the city have been living under government siege since early September.
Rebel groups — which have yet to formally sign on to the truce — have regularly pledged to break the encirclement.
The head of Fateh al-Sham Front, which changed its name from al-Nusra Front after renouncing its ties to al-Qaeda, said late Saturday that opposition fighters would do all they could to end the blockade.
Abu Mohamed al-Jolani said “neither we nor rebel groups will allow the siege of Aleppo to continue.”
Once Syria’s largest city, Aleppo has been a horrific battleground since 2012, divided between government and rebel-held areas. Over the summer, the 250,000 people living in the opposition districts endured more than 40 days under complete blockade after government forces captured all roads out of the area.
Rebel reinforcements broke a hole in the blockade in August. But in heavy bombardment over the following weeks, more than 700 civilians were killed. Syrian troops backed by Russian airstrikes retook the roads and clamped the siege back on. Then the truce came into effect, sealing both sides’ positions in place.
More than 300,000 people have been killed since Syria’s conflict erupted in March 2011 with protests calling for the ouster of President Bashar Assad.