The UN has warned that the Syrian rebel offensive into government-held districts of Aleppo could amount to war crimes. The comments have come after state media reported of insurgent forces firing shells of toxic gas.
Image: Reuters/K.Ashawi
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Rebel forces on Sunday continued a vicious campaign in Aleppo, unleashing car bombs and a barrage of rockets into regime-held areas. Some 41 people civilians, including 16 children, have died and another 250 wounded in the fighting, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The office for Syria's UN peace envoy Staffan de Mistura said it was "appalled and shocked by the high number of rockets" fired by the insurgents during the first three days of the offensive.
"Those who argue that this is meant to relieve the siege of eastern Aleppo should be reminded that nothing justifies the use of disproportionate and indiscriminate weapons, including heavy ones, on civilian areas and it could amount to war crimes," de Mistura's office said in a statement.
While claims of toxic gas could not be verified, Syria's state news agency SANA reported that 35 people were suffering from shortness of breath, numbness and muscle spasms due to "toxic gases" being fired on the frontline in Dahiyet al-Assad and into the regime-stronghold of Hamdaniyeh.
Ibrahim Hadid, the head of Aleppo University Hospital, told state-run television that "36 people, including civilians and combatants, were wounded after inhaling toxic chlorine gas released by terrorists."
SOHR director Rami Abdurrahman confirmed reports that civilians were suffering from breathing difficulties, although he could not verify whether this was due to toxin gasses.
A rebel spokesman dismissed the claims, saying the opposition did not possess such weapons and would not attack areas where its own supporters are based.
Opposition fighters and government forces have in the past accused each other of firing chemical weapons into their respective areas. An international team has found that the Syrian government had carried out such an attack in 2015, the third to be blamed on President Bashar al-Assad's military forces.
Rebel campaign enters third day
Insurgent forces aim to breach a government siege on Aleppo's rebel-held districts in the east of the besieged city and push regime troops from the frontline. Sunday's intensive fighting rocked Aleppo's western districts, while airstrikes and artillery fire was heard from the city's the eastern districts, according to AFP correspondents.
The opposition has scored gains in the Dahiyet al-Assad district after 1,500 rebel troops amassed on a 15-kilometer (10-mile) front along Aleppo's western edges. However, they have struggled to push further east since.
An anonymous military source said the government is reinforcing its positions in and around the city to repel rebel advancements.
A tight siege has been in place since July, trapping as many as 275,000 civilians in the eastern rebel-held areas of Aleppo.
The long trip to Europe from the refugees' perspective
A boy who is soaking wet, volunteers entertaining children, moments of danger and of joy: #RefugeeCameras shows images taken during the journey to Europe. It is the subject of a new exhibition in Hamburg.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Leaving home - for good?
Zakaria received his camera on December 8 in Izmir, Turkey - one of the key hubs for refugees. The Syrian fled from the "Islamic State" terror militia and the government, according to McElvaney's #RefugeeCamera project. Out of safety concerns, Zakaria doesn't name his hometown. In his flight diary, Zakaria writes that only God knows if he will ever be able to return to Syria.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Rough dinghy ride
Zakaria documented his sea journey from Turkey to Chios. He was sitting in the back of his dinghy. At the Hamburg exhibition, which opens this weekend, the refugees' images will be complemented by a selection of shots taken by professionals, who helped to shape the representation of escape routes in the media. They all donated their works in order to support the project.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Perilous arrival
Hamza and Abdulmonem, both from Syria, photographed the perilous landing of their dinghy on a Greek island. There were no volunteers to offer them support. That is exactly what McElvaney had in mind when he launched #RefugeeCameras. So far, he says, the media have offered a "visual blank" in this respect.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Surviving the sea
After the landing, a young boy in wet clothes and life jacket stands on the pebbled beach. The image brings to mind Aylan Kurdi, the small Syrian boy whose lifeless body was washed ashore on a Turkish beach in September. The child in this picture made it to Europe alive. What became of him is not known.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Seven cameras returned
Hamza and Abdulmonem also took this slightly blurred snapshot of the refugee group taking a break. McElvaney handed out 15 disposable cameras in total. Seven of them were returned, one was lost, two were confiscated, two remain in Izmir, where their holders are still stranded. The remaining three cameras are unaccounted for - just like their owners.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Family in focus
Dyab, a math teacher from Syria, tried to capture some of the better moments of his journey to Germany. Pictured here are his wife and his young son, Kerim, who shows us the packet of biscuits he was given in a Macedonian refugee camp. The images reveal Dyab's deep affection for his son, McElvaney says: "He wants to take care of him, even on this arduous trip which he was forced to take."
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
From Iran to Hanau
The story of Saeed, from Iran, is a different one. The young man had to leave the country after converting to Christianity. He could have been arrested or even killed. In order to be accepted as a refugee, he pretended to be Afghan. After his arrival in Germany, he explained his situation to the authorities' satisfaction. He now lives - as an Iranian - in Hanau, Hesse.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
Beyond selfies
Saeed took this picture of a Syrian father and his child on a bus from Athens to Idomeni.
Image: Kevin McElvaney/ProjectRefugeeCameras
More than status
In another snapshot taken by Saeed, a volunteer working in a refugee camp somewhere between Croatia and Slovenia entertains a group of children, who try to imitate his tricks.
