Aid Convoy Bombed As Syria Says Ceasefire Over
MEP: An aid convoy has been hit by airstrikes near Aleppo on Monday leaving more than 20 people dead, according to a war monitor, as the Syrian military declared a one-week truce brokered by the United States and Russia over.
No party yet found responsible for the alleged airstrike on the humanitarian aid convoy in which several Syrian Red Crescent volunteers have lost their lives.
The US State Department was quick to vent its outrage, blaming Damascus and Moscow for the attack.
In a statement issued by the US State Department, spokesman John Kirby said the US was “outraged” at the attack, stopping short of blaming any country in particular, but adding that “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.”
The United Nations special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has voiced anger over the airstrike. “Our outrage at this attack is enormous … the convoy was the outcome of a long process of permission and preparations to assist isolated civilians.”
Syria’s military on Monday declared that the seven-day, US-Russian brokered ceasefire was over as the government and opposition traded accusations over mounting violations.
An AFP news agency correspondent in Aleppo reported the northern city was being pummeled.
France has also condemned the attack, noting that it shows the country’s need for a ceasefire.
“France strongly condemns the destruction of a humanitarian convoy in Syria and the death of all the personnel in it,” said French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal. “This destruction illustrates the urgency of a ceasefire.”
