NEWS BRIEF Dozens of people have been killed and several others wounded in airstrikes carried out by the Syrian military in rebel-held parts of Aleppo, less than a day after international diplomatic efforts in New York to restart a cease-fire failed.
The BBC reports at least 27 civilians were killed in Friday’s airstrikes, though others are reporting a higher death toll. This latest offensive in eastern Aleppo, the battleground of some of the civil war’s most intense fighting, was announced by the Syrian defense ministry overnight as an attempt by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to retake control of the city, which has been divided since 2012, and is one of the last major rebel strongholds.
The government cautioned the city’s civilian population—some 250,000 people—to avoid rebel-held areas.
The Syrian Civil Defense, a group of volunteer rescuers known commonly as the White Helmets, said three of its four centers were targeted in the bombings.
3 of the 4 @SyriaCivilDef centers in Aleppo city targeted this morning. 60 air strikes in East Aleppo pic.twitter.com/g5seYilDbY
— The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) September 23, 2016
Meanwhile, in New York, U.S. and Russian officials announced that efforts to revive the cease-fire had failed.