UN halts Syria aid convoys after strike

Aleppo / AFP

The United Nations suspended all humanitarian convoys in Syria on Tuesday following a deadly air strike on aid trucks, as fighting intensified after the regime declared an end to a week-long truce.
Both Syria and Russia denied they were behind the raid on the convoy near northern city Aleppo, which the Red Cross said killed “around 20 civilians” including an employee of the Syrian Red Crescent.
Air raids and shelling meanwhile pounded key battlefronts across the country — dimming hopes that the fraught ceasefire brokered by Moscow and Washington could be revived.
Key players including the United States and Russia were meeting in New York on Tuesday in an effort to salvage the peace process, which US Secretary of State John Kerry had warned could be the “last chance” to end Syria’s civil war.
Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov opened a meeting of the 23-nation International Syria Support Group (ISSG) in New York, where world leaders have gathered for the UN General Assembly.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon opened the assembly debate with a call to end the fighting in Syria.
“I appeal to all those with influence to end the fighting and get talks started,” Ban said.
Monday’s strike on the aid convoy provoked outrage from UN officials, with aid chief Stephen O’Brien warning that if deliberate “it would amount to a war crime”.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Monday night’s raid destroyed at least 18 of 31 vehicles, as well as a Red Crescent warehouse in Orum al-Kubra in Syria’s Aleppo province.
“Much of the aid was destroyed,” the IFRC said in a statement, stressing that “the attack deprives thousands of civilians of much-needed food and medical assistance.”
Omar Barakat, who headed the local Red Crescent branch, was wounded in the strike and later died, IFRC spokesman Benoit Carpentier told reporters in Geneva.

‘Dark day’ for aid workers
UN humanitarian agency OCHA said that the movements of all aid convoys in Syria had been suspended as an “immediate security measure” after the raid.
The attack marked a “very, very dark day for humanitarians in Syria and indeed across the world,” OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke said, adding that it was “paramount that we are able to establish the facts through an independent investigation.”
A Syrian military source denied any regime involvement, telling state media: “There is no truth to media reports that the Syrian army targeted a convoy of humanitarian aid in Aleppo province.”
The Russian defence ministry also said that both its forces and the Syrian air force “did not conduct any strikes against the UN aid convoy.”
The strike came just a few hours after the Syrian army announced the end of the truce on Monday night, accusing rebels of failing to “commit to a single element” of the US-Russia deal.
Heavy fighting almost immediately resumed, with activists and AFP correspondents on the ground in Syria reporting bombardments overnight and on Tuesday in several areas.
In the battleground city of Aleppo, air raids and artillery fire hit rebel-held districts until approximately 2:00 am (2300 GMT Monday), an AFP correspondent said.

‘Ready for barrel bombs’
Residents spent the night huddled in their apartments sharing news about the collapsing truce via text messages and heard loud intermittent booms on Tuesday morning.
At least 39 civilians were killed in overnight bombardment of Aleppo and the surrounding province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said, and fresh clashes erupted on the city’s southern edges. In the northwestern province of Idlib Tuesday, activist Nayef Mustafa said planes circled over the opposition-held town of Salqin.
“It’s calm now, but there was machinegun fire by military aircraft overnight,” Mustafa said.
“The ceasefire has collapsed and people are getting ready to be hit by barrel bombs.”

Aid convoy strike could end Russia deal, warns USA

Washington / AFP

A deadly air strike on a UN aid convoy by Syrian or Russian planes calls into question Moscow’s will to try to salvage a ceasefire, the United States said.
The attack could only have been carried out by Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s regime or his Russian allies and Moscow must take responsibility either way, US officials said.
“The United States is outraged by reports that a humanitarian aid convoy was bombed near Aleppo today,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
US officials said there could be no similar excuse from Russia for the targeting of non-combatant aid workers.
“The destination of this convoy was known to the Syrian regime and the Russian Federation,” Kirby said.
“And yet these aid workers were killed in their attempt to provide relief to the Syrian people,” he added.
“Given the egregious violation of the cessation of hostilities we will reassess the future prospects for cooperation with Russia.”
“The Russians have the responsibility to refrain from taking such actions themselves, but they also have the responsibility to keep the regime from doing it,” one said.
“So either way, the burden is on the Russians to demonstrate quickly and in a significant way that they are committed to this process,” the official added.

ICRC demands investigation

Geneva / AFP

The UN humanitarian agency on Tuesday demanded an investigation into Monday’s airstrikes on the convoy, which had been carrying desperately needed aid for some 78,000 people.
“From what we know of Monday’s attack, there has been a flagrant violation of International Humanitarian Law, which is totally unacceptable,” Peter Maurer, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said in Tuesday’s statement.
Omar Barakat, who headed the SARC’s sub-branch on Orum “succumbed to his injuries and died,” IFRC spokesman Benoit Carpentier told reporters in Geneva.
SARC chief Abdulrahman Attar said the organisation was “totally devastated by the deaths of so many people,” including Barakat, whom he described as “a committed and brave member of our family.”
“It is totally unacceptable that our staff and volunteers continue to pay such a high price because of the ongoing fighting,” he said.
According to IFRC, Syria is one of the world’s most dangerous conflicts for humanitarian workers.
A total of 54 SARC volunteers and staff have been killed on duty in the war-ravaged country since the conflict began in 2011.