Aleppo: Night airstrikes caused dozens of casualties

Dozens of Syrians lost their lives in last night's airstrikes on the rebel-held part of Aleppo. Residents described the attack as the most intense in recent months, writes the British Guardian, reports Patria.

The new attacks only confirmed the collapse of the ceasefire agreement reached last week between Washington and Moscow.

Despite renewed airstrikes, the UN says it will continue to deliver humanitarian aid to besieged parts of the country, days after a convoy of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) was bombed in an attack for which US officials blamed Russian air forces. Several humanitarian workers and volunteers also lost their lives in this attack.

- The planes are still over the city, and the bombing is continuous and indiscriminate, said an activist inside eastern Aleppo, controlled by the opposition. "The wounded have not yet been counted," he revealed.

By midnight, doctors and activists had identified 49 people, including children, who had lost their lives in Aleppo province since noon that day, during dozens of airstrikes on rebel territories. Another 4 people were killed in a late-night bombing of the Bustan al-Qasr district, while residents shared photos and videos of buildings in flames, suspected to be targets of phosphorus bombs.

- It's so close to my house that I can see the fire, said a resident of that part of the city in a voice message sent two hours after midnight.

US Secretary of State John Kerry called on Wednesday to halt all Syrian aircraft over war zones where humanitarian aid is being delivered, while Russia announced it would send its only aircraft carrier to the Syrian coast.

Despite the escalation of violence, UN officials announced that they would continue to deliver humanitarian aid to besieged areas, where an estimated 1 million Syrians desperately need basic supplies.

- Convoy preparation is underway, and we are ready to deliver aid to besieged areas as soon as possible, said a representative of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The SARC convoy, which was bombed earlier in the week, was carrying aid for rebel-held areas near Aleppo, shortly after the Syrian government declared it was no longer bound by the ceasefire. 20 people lost their lives in the attack, and most of the convoy of 31 trucks was destroyed.

Humanitarian aid deliveries were a condition of the truce agreed between the White House and the Kremlin, but Assad's government has consistently refused to allow aid to be delivered to besieged eastern Aleppo. During a US attack during the truce, 60 Syrian soldiers lost their lives, which was condemned by Moscow, writes the Guardian, reports Patria.