Russia says it would support 48-hour truce in Syria's Aleppo
Sep 30 2016
"There is a war in Aleppo so why do you accuse my government while there are terrorists who are occupying the eastern part of Aleppo who have been terrorising people in Aleppo for four years?" she said.
The week-old assault has already killed hundreds, with bunker-busting bombs demolishing buildings on the heads of the residents huddled inside.
"The ultimative tone of these signals we hear is outrageous", he told state news agency Itar-Tass on Thursday. Hospital workers are not terrorists.
More than 170 people have been killed in east Aleppo since Syria's army announced its operation to retake the city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group.
The destruction in Aleppo is so great that the USA should be able to assemble greater worldwide military and logistical support and training for the embattled rebels, said one US official.
The most dramatic option under consideration - but considered less likely - would be a USA air strike on a Syrian air base far from the fighting between Assad's troops and rebel forces in the north, officials said.
The officials, who weren't authorized to be quoted by name, said Steinmeier warned that the longer Syria deploys its air force and ground troops in eastern Aleppo, the further away the chances of ending the violence would become.
"The Secretary made clear the United States and its partners hold Russian Federation responsible for this situation, including the use of incendiary and bunker buster bombs in an urban environment, a drastic escalation that puts civilians at great risk".
A top Russian official rejected calls by the United States for a seven-day cease-fire in Syria, but said that Russia is willing to support a 48-hour truce.
Analysts say that Russian Federation and Syria may be targeting civilians in Aleppo to erode the rebels' legitimacy by driving them into the hands of extremists.
Among the targets hit on Wednesday were the two largest hospitals in Aleppo's opposition-controlled east. "Even a slaughterhouse is more humane", he said. "They know they are committing war crimes", he said.
Food supplies are scarce in the besieged area, and those trapped inside often queue up before dawn for food.
With no let-up in the military campaign, US Secretary of State John Kerry admitted that months of diplomacy to end the war had hit a dead-end.
Russian Federation also supplied a range of sophisticated weaponry to Assad's ground forces - including T-90 tanks that often withstood powerful tank-destroying missiles provided by the US and Saudi Arabia. The fall of Aleppo would restore Assad's rule over western Syria's most important city and deal a devastating blow to the rebels.
The FSA rebels have deep ideological differences with the jihadists, and have even fought them at times, but say survival is the main consideration.
Like other Russian officials before him, he has blamed the rebels for the collapse of the truce, adding that an increasing number of Syrian opposition units have integrated with al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria.
The United States called the assault on Aleppo by Syria and Russian Federation "a gift" to Islamic State on Thursday, saying it was sowing doom and would generate more recruits for the militant group.
The rebels' main demand has always been for the provision of anti-aircraft missiles, but Washington has resisted this, fearing they could end up in the hands of jihadists.
Ryabkov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying of the US that "a certain emotional breakdown occurred". Another is a USA air strike on an Assad air base, viewed as less likely because of the potential for causing Russian casualties, the officials told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. "To really govern, he needs Aleppo", said Balanche.
The United Nations has called on the Syrian and Russian governments to stop the bombing and shelling of schools, hospitals and residential areas, which are being systematically destroyed and where the death toll among civilians reportedly has reached 100 a day.
"There have been clashes in al-Suweiqa from 5 a.m. until now". The government claimed it expelled rebels from the front-line neighborhood Tuesday.
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