Syrian forces shoot dead 82 Aleppo civilians in their homes

Syrian forces of president Bashar al-Assad have shot dead 82 Aleppo civilians in their homes and the citizens have posted harrowing 'death bulletins' pleading for help from the outside world. The UN has described it as a 'complete meltdown of humanity' in the war-torn city.
Reports indicate that 11 women and 13 children were among those killed in 'on the spot' shootings in the besieged Syrian city while 100 unaccompanied children are believed to be trapped in a building under heavy attack.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 13 December 2016.

Syrian troops were poised to recapture all of Aleppo, the country's war-torn second city and Rights group Amnesty International has described global inaction over the siege as 'shameful'. Thousands of civilians are trapped as rebels make a desperate last stand in their remaining pocket of territory in the former opposition stronghold.
The UN human rights office has received reports of the massacre by forces loyal to president Bashar al-Assad in which at least 82 civilians have been killed as they entered the last remaining strongholds of the rebels in eastern Aleppo.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon has expressed alarm over reports of atrocities against 'a large number of civilians, including women and children' in Aleppo.


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Carey Mulligan leaves teddy bears outside gates of 10 Downing Street to protest attacks on Aleppo

Actress Carey Mulligan has left teddy bears outside the gates of Downing Street to protest the persistent, deadly attacks on Aleppo. She is the star of films such as Shame and Drive and, also, an ambassador for the charity War Child She has said that one of her one-year-old daughter's toys was among the teddies.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 22 October 2016.

Hundreds of protesters had gathered in London's Whitehall to call on the Government to do more to end civilian deaths in the Syrian conflict. The teddy bears they brought represented the thousands of children who were trapped in rebel-held eastern areas of the city.
The Syrian government regime has recently stepped up attacks and civilians were being pulled out dead from the rubble after numerous devastating barrel bombings.
Carey Mulligan hoped that the protesters could send a "real message" that governments must act to stop the fighting in Aleppo because these are examples of breaking humanitarian international laws. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has termed the attacks in Syria and eastern Aleppo as "crimes of historic proportions". Many targets are hospitals and schools and the death toll in the civil war stands at more than 300,000.


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9300 people killed in Russian airstrikes in Syria during last year

It is now one year that Russia had launched its air campaign in Syria in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad. In this one year, Russian airstrikes on areas outside government control in Syria have killed more than 9,000 people, displaced tens of thousands and caused wide destruction.
These figures are made available by the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) which is an opposition monitoring group.
This has been reported in foxnews.com dated 30 September 2016.

Russia had begun an air campaign backing the ground forces of President Bashar Assad. It helped him to turn the balance of power in his favor in many areas. These included the northern province of Aleppo and the suburbs of the capital Damascus. Opposition activists have held Russia responsible for most of the recent airstrikes against rebel-held neighborhoods of east Aleppo city that killed more than 320 civilians in the past two weeks and demolished many buildings.
As revealed by The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that keeps track of Syria's civil war, the Russian airstrikes have killed 9,364 people in the war-torn country. These include 3,804 civilians (906 of them were children). The dead also include 2,746 members of the Islamic State group and 2,814 from other rebel and militant groups, including Al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria.


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Syrian ceasefire breaks down - airstrike in Aleppo claims at least 45 civilian casualties

The Syrian ceasefire has failed and diplomats failed to find a way in New York to revive a U.S. and Russian-brokered ceasefire that has collapsed. The Syrian military, backed by the Russian air force, has indicated that it was starting a new operation against the rebel-held east. This is home to at least 250,000 people and was one of the locations targeted in heavy air strikes.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 23 September 2016.

As informed by rescue workers and activists, fighter jets targeted rebel-held areas in the east of the city in a second day of heavy bombardment soon after the army announced the start of a military operation. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported at least 30 air strikes that had targeted different areas of Aleppo.
A five-year-old girl was pulled alive from the wreckage of a collapsed building after an airstrike in Aleppo killed her entire family. The shocking incident was from her family home in Bab al Nairab.
The girl had lost her parents, three sisters and brother - they were among the 30 civilians killed in the raids by Russian warplanes and regime aircraft. In the opinion of locals, the bombing is the beginning of an 'annihilation'.


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Humanitarian aid reaches Aleppo as ceasefire holds for first full day

As the ceasefire holds for the first day, fresh humanitarian aid is believed to be on its way to the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo. Nearly 20 trucks carrying food, children's clothes and toys crossed into northern Syria from the Turkish border town of Cilvegozu with the death toll of the five-year civil war reaching 300,000.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 13 September 2016.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has revealed that more than 86,000 civilians were among the 301,781 people killed since the start of the conflict in March 2011. This figure is an increase of nearly 9,000 on the last death toll published by the UK-based monitoring group in early August. This would mean 9000 deaths happened last month. The ceasefire will be renewed every 48 hours and, if it holds for a week, the US and Russia are due to begin sharing intelligence too. Hopefully, humanitarian supplies can also be distributed.
While Turkey and Russia had both pledged to deliver aid to Aleppo right away, Moscow has reportedly deployed a "mobile observation post" to monitor the ceasefire on Castello Road. This is the remaining single supply route that leads to the rebel-held portion of the city.


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At least 100 killed in airstrikes in Syria before ceasefire begins

Before ceasefire can take effect in Syria, airstrikes in Aleppo and Idlib killed nearly 100 persons - in Idlib, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights SOHR has revealed that 58 people were killed in a series of bombings, including one on a vegetable market and there are at least 13 children among the dead. The market was full of shoppers who were buying presents for their kids and they were all civilians.
This is reported in news.sky.com dated 11 September 2016.

Another at least 30 people died when barrel bombs were dropped in Aleppo from army helicopters in the east and further civilian deaths were reported from other parts of the city. Obviously, both sides seem to be trying to maximize gains before the cessation of hostilities begins at sundown on Monday - this is the start of the Muslim Eid al Adha holiday.
The Syrian government has indicated to Moscow that it is prepared to comply with the deal. Opposition forces have also said they will fulfill the peace plan's requirements if the government demonstrates it is serious about ending the bloodshed. However, Syria's moderate Free Syrian Army is of the opinion that the chance of the deal's success is slim. The argument is that Damascus and Moscow had not observed the last agreement and were unlikely to observe this one.


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Suspected chlorine gas attack in Aleppo kill at least four

A suspected chlorine gas attack in Aleppo in Syria has led to at least four deaths. It is believed that the gas was dropped alongside barrel bombs on the Zubdiya neighborhood. This is in the rebel-held part of the city. A manager of the Al Quds hospital has indicated that he had recorded four deaths and 55 injuries and was preserving pieces of patients' clothing and pieces of the bombs as evidence.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has confirmed that a woman and her child were among the dead.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 11 August 2016.

A video posted by an opposition news portal showed a child and adults wearing breathing apparatus. Moreover, two of the men reported about the strong smell of gas. They also said about seeing barrel bombs before people began to suffer breathing and eye problems.
It seems both the sides have denied using chemical weapons but United Nations investigators say that sarin gas was used in Eastern Ghouta three years ago. This had killed an estimated 1,429 people, including at least 426 children. Subsequently, in late 2015, mustard gas was used in the conflict. This was confirmed by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Aleppo is Syria's most populous city before the war and has been the subject of a bitter fight between rebel forces and those under the command of Syrian President Bashar al Assad.


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Syrian city of Aleppo falls into hands of rebels and jihadists

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This has been reported in thehindu.com dated 7 August 2016.

Moreover, Western-backed alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters have scored a major victory against the Islamic State (IS) group in the town of Manbij after a fierce two-month battle.
The capture of territory south of Aleppo has been done in a bid to cut off regime forces and open up a new route into besieged rebel-held districts. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said that 'The Army of Conquest... took control of the armament school, where there is a large amount of ammunition, and a large part of the artillery school” at a military academy. The coalition of rebels, Islamists, and jihadists “is about to cut off, by gunfire, the supply route into government-controlled districts ... That road passes through a southwestern suburb of Ramussa and is the last route into Aleppo used by regime troops.'


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ISIS carries out suicide bombing in Qamishli - death toll at least 44

At least 44 persons have been killed in a massive bomb blast in Qamishli and has injured dozens in Syria - it was an attack by the ISIS and is believed to be in retaliation to was airstrikes against its forces. The airstrikes were in the town of Manbij, a stronghold for the jihadist group in Syria's Aleppo province. This attack was the biggest to hit Kurdish-majority Qamishli since the start of the civil war in 2011.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 27 July 2016.

Kurdish officials have revealed that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who was driving an explosives-laden truck. It was initially described as a double bombing, but it has since been clarified that the bomb had detonated a nearby fuel container which led to a second explosion.
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This has been reported in foxnews.com dated 28 April 2016.

It is understood that some of the overnight strikes had struck the well-known al-Quds field hospital in the Sukkari district in Aleppo. This information is from Doctors Without Borders, opposition activists and rescue workers anbd they have indicated that 14 doctors and patients had died in the strikes.
In a separate blitz in Aleppo, 20 deaths are reported and, with this, the 24-hour death toll in the key city stood at 61 and the toll could rise.
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Syrian forces break siege on Syrian air base by ISIS since 2013

Syrian forces have finally broken a siege imposed by the Islamic State on a military air base since 2013 and, the move is considered to be one of the first major achievement by the troops of President Bashar Assad since Russia began its airstrikes in late September.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 11 November 2015.

The air base is the Kweiras air base in the northern province of Aleppo and Syrian troops, backed by pro-government gunmen, had launched a large-scale offensive to reach the base last month under the cover of Russian airstrikes.
ISIS had taken over the base since 2013 when they defeated rival militant groups who had already been surrounding the base for a year and the victory is a major one for the government against ISIS, which controls nearly half of Syria.
It seems Russian airstrikes have helped to evict ISIS from the area.
these ISIS fighters had been holding nearly 1,000 soldiers inside the base since 2013 and it does credit to them that they have managed to hold on despite repeated attacks using multiple suicide bombings.
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This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 23 October 2015.

The news of the death of the al-Nusra Front leader comes even as Syrian troops backed by Russian air strikes continue to wage a war against Islamic State group fighters in a bid to restore a key supply line to the capital. At least 28 IS fighters and 21 troops and militia have been killed in the battle for the road that leads to the government-held sector of the city – this has been indicated by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Al-Nusra is The Front for the Defence of the Syrian People and it is considered to be the second most powerful jihadist group in Syria after the Islamic State. Therefore, the death of its leader would come as a devastating blow to its operations in the war torn Middle Eastern country.
It may be recalled that it had first announced its existence four years ago. It was behind many of the suicide bombings that rocked Syria when civil war broke out in March 2011.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Latest barrel bomb attack in Aleppo leaves 71 dead

#aleppo #barrelbombs #syria I#ISIS Government helicopters have dropped barrel bombs on Syria's northern Aleppo province and at least 71 persons are believed to have been killed as reported in bbc.com dated 30 May 2015.

As per the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), 59 people died in the strike on a busy market in al-Babs - a town which is at present held by Islamic State (IS) militants. Another 12 people were killed in the city of Aleppo. They were killed in Aleppo's rebel-held Shaar area and eight of them were members of a single family.
Syria's government has repeatedly denied using barrel bombs. These are large containers filled with explosives and, when dropped by helicopters, are among the most deadly and inaccurate weapons used by government forces. Reports of dropping of these bombs keep surfacing on a regular basis and are denied by the authorities.
The casualties are expected to increase because the dead were mostly civilians, including women and children – the injuries to many of the injured are reported to be serious.
The SOHR, which collects information through a network of activists in Syria, has termed this attack as one of the worst massacres perpetrated by the government so far during this year.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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#syria #Aleppo #alqaida #SOHM #assadregime It was a deadly al-Qaida-linked terror attack on a Syrian regime intelligence headquarters in Aleppo and it was so massive that it measured 2.3 on the Richter scale and was initially registered as an earthquake as reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 5 March 2015.
The death toll in the attack was at least 20 regime security force members and 14 rebels. The incident occurred west of Aleppo which is the largest city in Syria and the frontline in battles between the Assad regime, the Islamic State, Western-backed rebel groups and the Al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front.
The attack is believed to be the work of al-Qaida affiliated Nusra front.
Their targets were apparently the air force intelligence offices. It seems the militants had used a tunnel to detonate bombs and the intensity of the resultant explosion was so huge that the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre labeled it as an earthquake. The intention could have been to storm the building and control it, but they failed. This is how Rami Abdel Rahman, the director of UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, sees the attack.
The attack has been termed as the worst reported violence in Aleppo since the rebels rejected a UN plan to freeze fighting in the northern city. Fighting in Aleppo, the commercial hub of Syria, had erupted in mid-2012, and the city is divided in two parts – the rebels are on the eastern side and the regime in the west.

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Assad government agrees to six-week ceasefire in Aleppo

#aleppo #syria #assad #mortarfire #SOHR It has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 19 February 2015 that the government of Syria has agreed to put on hold airstrikes and artillery shelling on Aleppo for six weeks to see if a ceasefire is workable in the city which is divided into a rebel-controlled west and government-held east.
This has been informed by the United Nations envoy to Syria by Staffan de Mistura who was briefing the Security Council in a closed session on his latest efforts to find a solution to the civil war that has torn Syria apart over the past four years.
In his opinion, the fresh development should be viewed as a 'glimmer of hope' and emphasized the need for a political solution to the conflict. He would also have to convince the opposition and obtain their support for the plan – this would mean they would have to suspend rocket and mortar fire in the same period.
Incidentally, in spite of the agreement to a ceasefire by the regime of Assad, battles have been raging in and around Aleppo and have resulted in the death of killed at least 70 pro-government fighters apart from another 80 insurgents in the last 24 hours.
This was the outcome of a fresh offensive launched in Aleppo by the army. The army, backed by local allied militia, had captured areas north of Aleppo. As per the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, this was basically an attempt to encircle the city and throttle the supply lines.
The conflict in Syrian began in 2011 with protests against President Bashar al-Assad and has gradually taken the shape of a civil war, drawing in foreign fighters on both sides. According to UN estimates, the total number of casualties is nearly 220,000 while millions have fled to neighboring countries to seek refuge.

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