Russia says Syrian rebels used toxic gas against civilians

“After shelling, besieging and killing civilians and perpetrating war crimes on them, the Assad regime has resorted once again, and in breach of United Nations resolutions 2118 and 2235, to using chemical substances and toxic gases”, the SNC noted.

SANA said seven people were killed and 41 others were wounded on Wednesday by fresh rebel shelling on the government-controlled parts of Aleppo.

The corridor was proposed jointly by the Syrian and Russian governments, who are waging a brutal siege of the city which has been held by rebel forces.

Residents said chlorine gas had been used in the attack.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad is again being suspected of using illegal chlorine gas against civilians, this time in Idlib province.

In Libya, pro-government forces, backed by U.S. air strikes, fought to advance on Islamic State group jihadists in Sirte yesterday despite mines and snipers, a spokesman said.

They say that both civilians and surrendering rebels have used these routes.

The assault began on Sunday and is meant to ease the encirclement of the opposition-held east of Aleppo city, where an estimated 250,000 residents have been under regime siege since July 17.

Yasser Al-rahil, a journalist and member of the Revolutionary Forces of Syria media office, told Express.co.uk: “The children in Aleppo burned tires inside the besieged civilian Aleppo and are still continuing to”.

The rebels are a coalition of moderate and Islamist groups.

Photojournalist and Aleppo resident Karam Al Masri counted 27 strikes on the area since the morning, and three more barrel bombs dropped as he spoke to CNN in the early evening. “A Russian Mi-8 military transport helicopter was shot down from the ground after delivering humanitarian aid to Aleppo”, the defence ministry said in a statement. “Each of these assaults constitutes a war crime”. The government rejected the claim and accused the rebels of using chemical weapons themselves.

Aleppo is 50 kilometers northeast of Saraqeb.

Jabhat Fatah Al Sham said it believed the attack was carried out by government forces in retaliation for the downing of a Russian helicopter on Monday, an attack that killed five.

About 30 people, mostly women and children, were reported to have been affected.

Meanwhile, the delivery of aid in Syria continues to be obstructed by the heightened levels of violence.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that many of these facilities that had provided life-saving healthcare to tens of thousands of people are no longer functioning.