4 air strikes hit Aleppo since truce
Four air strikes hit rebel-held parts of Syria’s Aleppo on Sunday, a monitor said, in the first raids on the battered city since a truce took effect. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that several people were wounded, but could not immediately give details about casualties or identify who carried out the strikes.
A halt to fighting around Aleppo and the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid were key components of the fragile truce, which began on Monday.
Russia called on Washington on Sunday to thoroughly investigate a coalition strike that killed at least 62 Syrian troops, but stopped short of burying the ceasefire agreement struck in Geneva. “Moscow is deeply concerned about what happened,” said a foreign ministry statement.
“We call on the American partners to conduct the most thorough investigation and take measures to exclude such incidents in the future. “The actions of the pilots — if they, as we hope, were not taken on orders from Washington — fall between criminal negligence and direct pandering to IS terrorists,” it said.
The US admitted the coalition strike on regime positions near Deir Ezzor expressing “regret” over the loss of life that it said was a mistake. Moscow, however, said it suspected foul play aimed at disrupting the next stage of the ceasefire agreement which would see the US and Russia establishing closer operational coordination in Syria.
The ceasefire came into effect on Monday, and if it lasts seven days, Russia and the United States are to work together to target the extremist Islamic State and Al Nusra front. “They could wait two more days” and consult with Russia, to “make sure they are striking the right people,” UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told journalists late Saturday, after walking out of the Security Council in protest over remarks made by US delegate Samantha Power.