Syrian government and Russian warplanes are targeting rebel strongholds in east Aleppo in the second day of intense bombing after the army announced a new campaign, rescue workers and activists on the ground
have said.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) estimated 30 air strikes took place from midnight on Friday.
Ammar al-Selmo, the head of the local civil defence rescue service, or the White Helmets, said five jets he identified as Russian began a fresh wave of bombing at around 6am.
“What's happening now is annihilation,” he told Reuters. “It’s as if the planes are trying to compensate for all the days they didn’t drop bombs [during the ceasefire].”
Incendiary bombs are among the weapons that fell from the sky “like rain,” as several activists have described it, causing major fires. The White Helmets said several people had been confirmed dead at Aleppo’s hospitals, but there are no precise figures. SOHR said at least 14 have died so far.
The rebel-run Aleppo Media Centre said 20 people have been killed, and the city's main water pumping station has been destoyed.
The Syrian military announced a new operation against rebels in east Aleppo - where 250,000 civilians live under siege conditions - late on Thursday.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has denied that his forces or Russian allies were behind the attack.
In an interview with the Associated Press on Thursday he dismissed US claims the regime bombed the convoy as “lies”, adding that it was not strategically sound to target humanitarian workers and that he is “morally committed” to his people’s interests.
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