Russian jets resumed heavy bombing of rebel-held eastern Aleppo on Tuesday after several days of relative calm, a rebel official and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.
Air strikes mostly hit the Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, Zakaria Malhifji of the Aleppo-based Fastaqim rebel group told Reuters. "There is renewed bombardment and it is heavy," he said. Rebel officials and the Observatory reported casualties from the air strikes but gave no immediate toll.
At this rate, eastern Aleppo could be “totally destroyed” in two months. pic.twitter.com/j8faau3UbJ
— AJ+ (@ajplus) October 7, 2016
Moscow and Damascus reduced air raids in the northern city last week. The Syrian army said it was partly to allow civilians to leave opposition-held eastern neighbourhoods. The Syrian government said rebels holed up in Aleppo can leave with their families if they lay down their arms. Insurgents denounced that offer as a deception.
President Bashar al-Assad seeks the complete recapture of Aleppo, Syria's biggest city before the 5-1/2-year war, and which has been divided between government and opposition control for years.
Assad's ally Russia has meanwhile built up its forces in Syria since a brief ceasefire collapsed last month.
Rebel fighters shoot their weapons celebrating what they said was the taking over of Baraghedeh and Kafr-Ghan towns, in the northern Aleppo countryside. REUTERS
Putin cancels Paris visit
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not visit Paris next week or meet his French and German counterparts for separate talks on the Syria crisis, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. "The President made the decision to cancel his visit," Peskov told a conference call with reporters. "The President noted that he is ready to visit Paris at a time convenient for (French President) Hollande. We will wait for this convenient time to come."#Putin cancels visit to Paris next week, no separate meeting with #Hollande and #Merkel planned on #Syria— Noah Barkin (@noahbarkin) October 11, 2016
Putin's cancellation is the latest deterioration in ties between Moscow and the West after Russia vetoed a French-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution on Syria. Paris' growing anger at events in the rebel-held areas of Syria's Aleppo had led them to reconsider whether to host Putin on October 19.
