The UN has released stark satellite images showing the most recent destruction of Syria’s embattled northern city of Aleppo, pounded by Syrian and Russian airstrikes since the collapse of a US-Russia brokered ceasefire two weeks ago.
The release coincides with a stepped-up offensive by Syrian pro-government forces that are attacking the city from the south in a bid to penetrate its opposition-controlled areas, where the UN estimates 275,000 people are trapped in a government siege.
This satellite images released by the United Nations, shows the Sha’ar district of Aleppo, Syria, September 18, 2016, before it was bombed with strikes leaving craters in a road. (US Department of State, Humanitarian Information Unit, UNITAR-UNOSAT via AP)This satellite images released by the United Nations, shows road damage and craters, in the Sha’ar district of Aleppo, Syria, Sept. 25, 2016. (US Department of State, Humanitarian Information Unit, UNITAR-UNOSAT via AP)
In Geneva, an official with the UN’s satellite imagery program says the new pictures from the rebel-held areas in the eastern half of the city show much destruction, presumably caused by airstrikes.
“Since the cease-fire has broken down, you certainly see an awful lot of new damage or plenty of new damage,” says Lars Bromley, a research adviser at UNOSAT.
The images, from Digital Globe and obtained by the UN agency through a licensing arrangement with the US State Department, show mostly “formerly blasted and blown-up areas” during Syria’s 5-1/2-year war “experiencing a great deal of additional damage,” says Bromley.
— AP
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