Breaking News: Russia retaliates and destroys U.S backed help Trucks, dozens dead!
RIP Omar Barakat, head of Syria Red Crescent, killed by regime airstrike while delivering aid to besieged Aleppo. pic.twitter.com/keFl49gQPs
— Kenan كنان (@KenanRahmani) 19 September 2016
UN official says ‘inexplicable’ attack could amount to a war crime if bombing which killed aid workers proved to be deliberate
Aid trucks hit in #Syria airstrike ‘killing at least 32’. @SkyNews #RussianTerror #UN #Aleppo #WarCrimes https://t.co/mXpB8tEbfV
— Scrabby doo (@Scoobydoo007) 19 September 2016
Julian Borger in New York
Monday 19 September 2016 19.12 BST Last modified on Tuesday 20 September 2016 03.57 BST
A UN aid convoy delivering food relief to a rebel-held area near Aleppo was targeted in an airstrike, as a week-old ceasefire brokered by Russia and the US collapsed with a new surge of Syrian government bombing.
The US said it blamed Russia for the attack on the convoy, whether or not Russian planes were involved, arguing Moscow was responsible under the ceasefire agreement for reining in Bashar al-Assad’s government forces.
The attack on the convoy, made up of Syrian Red Crescent trucks carrying UN-supplied food, was reported to have killed at least 12 people and destroyed 18 trucks laden with food intended for tens of thousands of people cut off by the war in a rural area west of Aleppo city.
Aid officials said it was hit from the air while unloading food at a warehouse in opposition controlled Urem al-Kubra. Early reports suggested most of the dead were Syrian Red Crescent drivers.
Stephen O’Brien, the UN’s emergency relief coordinator, said that the convoy had been clearly marked and its route had been provided to all parties to the conflict.
“Let me be clear: if this callous attack is found to be a deliberate targeting of humanitarians, it would amount to a war crime,” O’Brien said. “I call for an immediate, impartial and independent investigation into this deadly incident. The perpetrators should know that they will one day be held accountable for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.”
The US state department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement: “The destination of this convoy was known to the Syrian regime and the Russian federation and yet these aid workers were killed in their attempt to provide relief to the Syrian people.”
Kirby added: “The United States will raise this issue directly with Russia. Given the egregious violation of the cessation of hostilities we will reassess the future prospects for cooperation with Russia.”
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A senior US official made it clear that Washington held Russia primarily responsible.
“We don’t know at this point whether it was the Russians or the regime. In either case, the Russians have the responsibility certainly to restrain – refrain from taking such action themselves, but they also have the responsibility to keep the regime from doing it,” the official said. More at Source
UN appears to have confirmed that its aid convoy to Aleppo has been bombed. Locals say the warplane returned to strike the rescue team.
— Louisa Loveluck (@leloveluck) 19 September 2016
The UN’s humanitarian coordinator says 20-truck convoy bound for Aleppo is still in Turkey. Ceasefire now over. pic.twitter.com/ujjSUXwF1w
— Samuel Oakford (@samueloakford) 19 September 2016
