Airstrikes Perpetuate Suffering in Aleppo

Aleppo’s people continue to suffer at the hands of the government. This morning Syrian government airstrikes took the lives of at least six of its civilians, four of which were children.

The Britain-based monitoring group said that some of the recent airstrikes were carried out by government aircraft, and others by aircraft belonging to the US-led coalition. According to a monitor, the airstrike in Aleppo occurred in in spite of an official albeit fragile two-week-old ceasefire.

Of the airstrikes that have been taking place over the past 24 hours, many have targeted the neighbouring province of Idlib, southwest of Aleppo. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, airstrikes in Idlib yesterday killed at least 22 jihadists. While this may be the case, the reality is that these strikes often do not meet the right target.

The tragic deaths that occurred this morning were the result of a strike hitting a house in the village of Babka in the west of Aleppo. This also left many injured and it is said that the death toll could very possibly rise due to the serious nature of the injuries sustained.

Most of those who perished in the Idlib airstrikes yesterday were linked to the former Al-Qaeda affiliate, Fateh al-Sham. The province is predominantly under the control of a powerful alliance of opposition forces, known collectively as the Army of Conquest, which is dominated by Fateh al-Sham.

The airstrikes ended a nationwide truce that was negotiated by Russia and Turkey and that has been in place since December 30. The ceasefire was not entered into by Fateh al-Sham, previously known as Al-Nusra Front, nor the Islamic State group.

While many areas breathed their first sighs of relief in months, erratic bouts of violence in other areas, added further fragility to the tenuous agreement, eventually leading to its collapse.

Since the conflict in Syria began in March of 2011, over 310 000 people have been killed.