At least 100 children have been killed in airstrikes and combat in Aleppo in August, a monitor reports. On Saturday the older brother of 5-year-old Omran, whose image shocked the world last week, became one of them.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/B. Al-Halabi
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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that 448 people have been killed in attacks by the regime and rebel groups in Aleppo since the beginning of August. Government and allied Russian warplanes have attempted to put down a push launched by rebels on July 31 to break a regime siege of districts under their control.
According to the Observatory, a Britain-based operation with opposition sympathies, about two-thirds of the deaths were the results of airstrikes and shelling by regime and Russian forces on rebel-controlled districts. The Observatory, which relies on a network of correspondents within Syria, reported that 163 noncombatants, including 49 children, were killed by shells launched into government-controlled areas.
More than 290,000 people have died as a result of Syria's multifront war, which started as a series of peaceful protests against the government in March 2011.
The image of Omran quickly circulated in news and social mediaImage: picture-alliance/AA/M. Rslan
On Saturday, the Observatory also reported that 10-year-old Ali Daqneesh had died from injuries sustained in an airstrike on Wednesday. An image that circulated last week of Ali's 5-year-old brother, Omran, temporarily cast new international attention on the conflict and the siege in Aleppo.
"He was martyred while in hospital as a result of the same bombardment that their house was subjected to," said Besher Hawi, the spokesman for the local council of Aleppo.
'Certainly not' Assad
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Turkey could allow a postwar transitional role for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but said Assad would have no place in the country's future. Speaking to foreign media representatives in Istanbul, Yildirim also said Turkey, which has supported rebels and taken in more than 2.7 million displaced Syrians, would aim to become more of a regional player with regard to the conflict in the next six months.
"Could Syria carry Assad in the long-term? Certainly not," Yildirim said on Saturday. "The United States knows and Russia knows that Assad does not appear to be someone who can bring (people) together."
Yildirim said Turkey would not accept roles for Kurdish rebels or the "Islamic State" in Syria's future either.
As Syria war drags, MSF warns of Aleppo crisis
As the war in Syria drags on, the humanitarian situation in Aleppo has grown steadily worse. The international aid organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has warned of a major crisis.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/B. el Halebi
A city on the brink
About 250,000 people are trapped in the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo as food and vital supplies dwindle, MSF reported on Thursday. Hospitals are straining to treat the number of patients, and the only road leading to areas not controlled by the government has been cut off.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/M. Sultan
Civilian casualties continue to mount
Even as besieged Syrians struggle amid food and supply shortages, attacks launched on civilians by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad continue. Hospitals have been repeatedly bombed, and government-led airstrikes have led to dozens of deaths over the past several months.
Image: Getty Images/B.Al-Halabi
Food and supplies are running low
MSF has been providing trapped civilians with food and supplies since 2014. The NGO's last shipment to Aleppo took place in April, when trucks were permitted to deliver 330 cubic meters (11,650 cubic feet) of equipment and provisions.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/O.-H. Kadour
Russian proposal rejected
Earlier this week, the Syrian and Russian governments proposed to open humanitarian corridors leading from the besieged parts of Aleppo to government-controlled areas seen in the background here. Their plan came shortly after forces overtook key rebel supply routes leading into the rebel areas.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/K. Al-Masri
Fears of a regime takeover
The regime-sanctioned plan was largely dismissed by the international community, with UN envoy Staffan de Mistura saying he wasn't even informed about it. Trapped activists and civilians, meanwhile, say it's an attempt to restore government control to the rest of Aleppo.
Image: Getty Images/T.Mohammed
Renewed calls for ceasefire
De Mistura called on Russia to hand administration of the humanitarian corridors over to the United Nations, as German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged Moscow to establish a ceasefire.
Image: picture-alliance/AA
A clear message
"We once again demand the warring parties respect the rules of war," Pablo Marco, MSF's Middle East operations manager, said in the report. "The message is clear: stop bombing hospitals and civilian infrastructures, allow the severely sick and wounded to be evacuated, and do not cut the supply of food, drugs and vital goods into the city."
