26 killed in Aleppo as UN meets over Syria

BEIRUT—At least 26 civilians were killed in fresh government airstrikes on the contested city of Aleppo, Syrian activists said on Sunday, as the United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting on the spiraling violence in Syria but failed to take any action because of deep divisions between Russia and the Western powers.

The United States, Britain and France, who called the emergency meeting, heaped blame on Moscow for supporting the Syrian offensive which UN envoy Staffan de Mistura called one of the worst of the 5 1/2-year war.

When Syria’s UN Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari was called to speak in the council, the ambassadors of the three Western powers walked out in protest.

They had demanded a halt to the Aleppo offensive and immediate council action, and their walkout demonstrated anger and frustration not only at Damascus but at Russia for backing close ally Bashar Assad’s military campaign while talking about reviving a cessation of hostilities.

“What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism, it’s barbarism,” said US Ambassador Samantha Power.

“It’s apocalyptic what is being done in eastern Aleppo.”

As the government offensive entered its fourth day on Sunday, medical workers and local officials reported airstrikes on neighborhoods throughout Aleppo’s rebel-held eastern districts.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 26 civilians had been killed by 7:30 p.m. and said it expects the toll to rise. Ibrahim Alhaj of the Syrian Civil Defense search and rescue outfit gave a higher toll, saying hospitals and rescuers had documented the deaths of 43 people so far on Sunday.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of contacts inside Syria, said earlier in the day that 213 civilians had been killed by airstrikes and shelling on opposition areas in and around Aleppo since the US-Russian brokered cease-fire collapsed Monday evening. (AP)