Aleppo bombardment 'continues despite daily ceasefire'

The fighting in Aleppo resumed following the end of a three-hour daily ceasefire announced by Russia, as local sources say the halt in violence was not observed on Thursday.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

11 August, 2016

Local sources in Aleppo said the ceasefire was not observed [Anadolu]

Syrian regime forces continued their bombardment of rebel-held parts of Aleppo and its outskirts on Thursday, as the three-hour ceasefire announced by Russia came to an end.

Regime forces stationed in Aleppo's central prison launched artillery fire on the town of Huraytan, residents said.

Meanwhile, Syrian and Russian aircraft continued aerial bombardment of opposition-held areas south of Aleppo, activist Hassan al-Halabi told The New Arab.

Russian jets struck an area in the Ramousah neighbourhood with eight air raids, as a Syrian aircraft shelled explosive barrels over the neighbourhoods of al-Shiekh in the afternoon, Halabi said.

Russia had announced a daily three-hour ceasefire from 10am to 1pm local time starting Thursday. But local sources told Reuters that the ceasefire was not observed.

"Today since the morning there has been a [government] attempt to advance in the Ramousah area. There has been a big escalation by Russian warplanes," Mohammed Rasheed, spokesman for the rebel Jaish al-Nasr group told Reuters.

Another rebel official confirmed to the news agency that fighting was still ongoing at 11am local time.

Meanwhile, Syrian state television announced that regime forces made advances on Wednesday night near the areas captured by rebel groups last week.

However, rebel officials fighting in Aleppo told Reuters that advances made by regime forces were quickly pushed back.