Hundreds dead as fresh airstrikes hit Syria's Aleppo

Hundreds of people, including civilians, have been killed as Russian and Syrian jets continued on Monday to pound rebel-held areas of Syria's Aleppo for the fourth day in a row.

The death toll reached 330 overnight, civil defence sources told The New Arab, as airstrikes targeted the city's opposition-controlled areas after midnight on Sunday.

"Hospitals that are still in service are under a lot of pressure due to the significant number of wounded in recent days, and the major shortage of blood," one medic told AFP.

"Because of this, serious injuries are requiring immediate amputations."

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights placed the death toll lower, saying "at least 128 people", nearly all civilians, had been killed in the raids since Thursday.

Among the dead were 20 children and nine women, said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman. At least 36 civilians, including 11 children and five women, were killed in raids targeting rural areas of Aleppo province, he said.

Hospitals that are still in service are under a lot of pressure due to the significant number of wounded in recent days.

Hospitals in rebel-held east Aleppo are struggling to deal with a huge number of casualties as supplies dwindle.

Monday was the fourth day of intense air raids on the city after a defiant Syrian regime launched a new assault to retake the entirety of the city following the collapse of a short-lived ceasefire brokered by Russia and the United States.

With Aleppo again under siege - regime forces fully surrounded the city in early September - residents have to deal with food shortages and skyrocketing prices, as well as the increased violence.

	In pictures: Click here for Zouhir al-Shimale's photoessay on East Aleppo's empty marketplace

The price of a portion of bread had risen to 500 Syrian pounds ($1) from 350 Syrian pounds last week, and food is becoming increasingly difficult to find.

Several charity kitchens that had distributed food in eastern districts have also stopped operating due to the danger of airstrikes.

Aleppo, divided since mid-2012 between government control in the west and rebel control in the east, has seen some of its worst fighting over the past week, raising widespread international concern.

The UN Security Council met in an emergency session on Sunday to address the fighting, with Britain, France and the United States demanding Russia rein in its Syrian ally.

Agencies contributed to this report.