Aid Trucks Bombed In Syria Near Aleppo, Monitor Says

The convoy had received the proper permits from all warring parties in the conflict, and the US, Russia, and the Assad regime had all been notified of the route and timings.

He said it was “a very, very dark day… for humanitarians across the world”, the Associated Press reported.

The United States has said, though, that it was prepared to extend the truce deal.

As violations mount, a senior Syrian opposition official declared the cease-fire “clinically dead”, adding that government forces have violated the truce all over the country.

The ICRC and the Syrian Red Crescent issued a statement Tuesday saying 20 civilians had been killed in the convoy attack, many of them struck while offloading aid from the trucks.

A Syrian opposition group claimed the attack had killed 12 Red Crescent volunteers and drivers. At least 18 of the 31 trucks in the convoy were hit in the strike, which was carried out by either Syrian or Russian forces. The Syrian army also denied blame.

A video of the attack showed huge balls of fire in a pitch-black area as ambulances arrived on the scene.

The UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, called the incident an “outrage”.

“It is outrageous that it was hit while offloading at warehouses”, he said.

“If this callous attack is found to be a deliberate targeting of humanitarians, it would amount to a war crime”, United Nations aid chief Stephen O’Brien said in a statement.

After the army announcement, activists said Aleppo and the surrounding province were heavily targeted, and a correspondent with the Agence France-Presse inside Aleppo city said there was nearly non-stop bombardment.

Russian and USA officials met in Geneva on Monday and the International Syria Support Group – the countries backing the Syria peace process – were scheduled to meet on Tuesday in NY to assess the ceasefire agreement.

“There is no truth to reports circulated by some media outlets that (the) Syrian army targeted the humanitarian aid convoy in rural Aleppo (governorate)”, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported Tuesday, quoting a military source.

He added that both Russian and United States officials are negotiating in Geneva to bring additional aid to civilians in Syria, including for the besieged areas in Aleppo.

The Russian general said “the main issue” was that non-jihadist rebels had not been separated from Syria’s former Al Qaeda affiliate on the ground.

Those seven days of calm and aid deliveries were required before the U.S. and Russian Federation could embark on a plan to cooperate in targeting the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda affiliates working in Syria.

From the start, the truce had been beset by difficulties and mutual accusations of violations.

However, he also repeated calls for the sustained delivery of humanitarian aid to Aleppo and other besieged communities.

Additionally, on Saturday the USA -led coalition fighting ISIS halted an airstrike in eastern Syria that the Russian Defense Ministry said killed 62 Syrian government soldiers and injured 100 others.

An airstrike has hit an aid convoy in Syria, reportedly killing at least 32 people – shortly after a week-long ceasefire came to an end.

Also Monday, the opposition reported 254 violations by government forces and their allies since the truce started on September 12.

He had earlier described the truce as “holding but fragile”.

Residents of eastern Aleppo shortly reported the resumption of airstrikes in their besieged areas.

In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a new push by Turkish forces and Syrian rebels aimed at capturing a town held by the Islamic State group.

The truce “was supposed to be a real chance to stop the bloodshed, but the armed terrorist groups flouted this agreement”, the statement said.

In the northwestern province of Idlib, activist Nayef Mustafa said that planes had circled over the town of Salqin, which is held by Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate in alliance with Islamist rebels.