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Slaughter ‘from vein to vein’ in Syria’s Aleppo
BEIRUT — A maternity hospital in a governmentheld section of Aleppo was struck by rocket fire Tuesday as battles killed 20 people and dragged the contested city in northern Syria deeper into chaos.
The bloodshed came as the diplomatic focus moved to Moscow, where the U.N. envoy for Syria raced to restore a partial cease-fire in the civil war that would include Aleppo.
The envoy, Staffan de Mistura, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, one day after meeting Secretary of State John Kerry in Geneva.
“We need to make sure the cessation of hostilities is brought back on track,” de Mistura said.
Aleppo has been at the center of the conflict for the past two weeks, shattering a limited cease-fire that began in late February.
Tuesday’s attack on the Dubeet hospital in the government-held central Muhafaza neighborhood that killed four people echoed an airstrike on a hospital on the rebel-held side of the city that killed about 50 civilians nearly a week ago.
About 280 civilians have died in the city in the last 12 days, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Rebel shelling of the government side of the city killed 20 people and injured 100, according to Mohammad Hazzouri, the head of the city’s Health Directorate. The Observatory said 19 had died.
“Aleppo is being slaughtered from vein to vein,” the Rev. Ibrahim Nseir, a priest at the Arab Evangelical Church, said from the government-held part of Aleppo. “To all those who consider themselves in favor of human rights, I say that there are no more rights, and no more humans.”
Activists reported government bombardment killed two civilians and wounded several on the rebel side.
Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi warned rebels they would face harsh retaliation for shelling civilian areas.
Direct clashes between government and rebel forces on Aleppo’s outskirts accompanied the shelling, foreshadowing a full-scale conflict unless a cease-fire is negotiated.
Opposition media activist Nazeer al-Khatib said government forces attacked the rebels first, prompting rebel factions to retaliate.
“The revolutionaries launched a counteroffensive against the regime, on a building called the Family House,” al-Khatib said.
He could not confirm reports that the rebels had taken over the compound, a former mall that has turned into a front-line position.
Maj. Jamil Saleh, leader of Tajammu Al-Ezzah, part of the Free Syrian Army, said “most of the FSA factions are taking part in the battle in the heart of Aleppo. Letting go of Aleppo is a treason to the revolution.”
He said the rebels have repelled the military’s attempts to advance on the city, citing unrelenting government strikes in preparation for a large offensive.
An official with the Ahrar al-Sham group told The Associated Press via text message that the Fatah Army, or Army Conquest coalition, will carry out an act in Aleppo but said the coalition had no role in Tuesday’s attacks.
The coalition was suspended before Syria’s indirect, U.N.-sponsored peace talks resumed in January in Geneva because it included extremists groups that oppose the peace process and the U.N. considers terrorist organizations.
Also in northern Syria, warplanes carried out airstrikes on the city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the extremist Islamic State group, early Tuesday. Activist groups said it was not clear if the warplanes were Russian or those of the U.S.-led coalition.
The Observatory said 18 people were killed.