Syrian conflict: Russia claims bombed UN aid convoy was ‘escorted by terrorists’

 

[youtube_sc url= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lib7yCfLX5c&w=560&h=315]

 

Syrian conflict: Russia claims bombed UN aid convoy was ‘escorted by terrorists’

The Telegraph

A UN aid convoy that was bombed on Monday night was escorted by a “terrorists”, Russia has claimed in response to accusations it was behind the deadly attacks.

Moscow has denied hitting the UN convoy, which was bombed as it delivered food aid to opposition-held parts of Aleppo on Monday night, minutes after the military declared the end of a ceasefire.

Syrian conflict: UN aid convoy hit by airstrike near Aleppo Play! 00:55

The strikes, carried out by either Syrian or allied Russian warplanes, hit Syrian Red Crescent trucks as staff members were unloading aid in Urem al-Kubra in Aleppo province.

Omar Bakarat, director of the Syrian Red Crescent, was killed in the strike

Omar Bakarat, director of the Syrian Red Crescent, was killed in the strike Credit: LCCSY

More than a dozen were killed including Omar Barakat, the organisation’s director. Pictures shared by activists showed burned bodies next to a UNHCR badge.

Russia’s defence ministry released drone footage late on Tuesday that it says showed a pickup truck carrying militants and hauling a heavy mortar driving alongside the convoy before it was bombed.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page last night, the Russian defence ministry said the drone footage cast “new details on the incident.”

“It is clearly visible how terrorists deploy a pickup with a large calibre mortar alongside the convoy,” the ministry said.

 The United Nations condemned the attack on Tuesday.

“Our outrage at this attack is enormous … the convoy was the outcome of a long process of permission and preparations to assist isolated civilians,” Steffan de Mistura, the UN Syria envoy, said.

An aid convoy of 31 trucks preparing to set off to deliver aid to the western rural side of Aleppo on Monday 19 September
An aid convoy of 31 trucks preparing to set off to deliver aid to the western rural side of Aleppo on Monday Credit: Syrian Red Crescent via EPA

The convoy had been carrying much-needed flour and other emergency supplies for 78,000 people in the area, his office confirmed.

More than 35 strikes were counted in Aleppo by monitors, with residents describing the bombs as falling like rain.

The truce collapsed as leaders were gathered at the UN in New York in the hope of negotiating a longer-term peace plan.

A lorry which was part of a convoy delivering aid was hit by a deadly air strike
A lorry, which was part of a convoy delivering aid, was hit by a deadly air strike Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is “evidently indiscriminately bombing, including of humanitarian convoys,” John Kerry, US secretary of state, said from the sidelines. “The important thing is the Russians need to control Assad.”

The US was last night still scrambling to save the hard-fought deal, which they have described as Syria’s “last chance,” saying it was prepared to extend the ceasefire if there was good will on the Russian side.

Terrified civilians flee gunfire in Aleppo as ceasefire on brink of collapse Play! 01:06

Moscow appeared to bury hopes of a lasting truce, however.

“Considering that the conditions of the ceasefire are not being respected by the rebels, we consider it pointless for the Syrian government forces to respect it unilaterally,” said Lt Gen Sergei Rudskoy.

Supplies were strewn across the ground in the town of Urem al-Kubra after a convoy delivering aid was hit by a deadly air strike
Supplies were strewn across the ground in the town of Urem al-Kubra after a convoy delivering aid was hit by a deadly air strike Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Under the agreed ceasefire, which came into effect last Monday, fighting was to halt across Syria and humanitarian aid would reach desperate civilians – particularly in
devastated eastern Aleppo.And if it held, the US was to have set up a an unprecedented joint military cell with Russia to target Islamic State and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham jihadists.
Damaged Red Cross and Arab Red Crescent medical supplies in a warehouse in Orum al-Kubra, on the outskirts of Aleppo
Damaged Red Cross and Arab Red Crescent medical supplies in a warehouse in Urem al-Kubra, on the outskirts of Aleppo Credit: AFP/Getty Images

But after four days of relative calm, violence escalated over the weekend, and the former Cold War foes traded recriminations as they accused one another of violating the ceasefire.

The US accused the Syrian government and its Russian ally of carrying out air strikes on rebel-controlled neighbourhoods and denying the entry of aid into besieged areas.

A fire is put out following an air strike near Orum al-Kubra
A fire is put out following an air strike near Urem al-Kubra Credit: Reuters

Meanwhile, the US-led international coalition, including a RAF Reaper, accidentally bombed an army position near the Islamic State-held city of Deir Ezzor in the east, killing more than 60 troops.

Moscow accused Washington and its allies of acting deliberately and said it was aiding Isil.

“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 Isil terrorists,” Moscow said in a statement.

The incident underscored the deep mistrust between the superpowers, who have so far failed to achieve any lasting agreement to end the seemingly intractable conflict.

Brita Haji Hasan, head of the opposition council in Aleppo, said the ceasefire “was born dead.”

“It was never committed to by Russian forces or Assad’s regime,” he said. “And this is not the first time a ceasefire has been attempted, only to fail.”