UN: Aleppo assault likely a war crime

Plans to evacuate besieged opposition districts of Aleppo were under threat on Wednesday as renewed airstrikes and shelling rocked the Syrian city in a bombardment the UN said “most likely constitute war crimes.”
Iran imposed new conditions, saying it wanted the simultaneous evacuation of wounded from two villages besieged by opposition fighters, according to UN sources.
There was no sign of that happening. Instead airstrikes, shelling and gunfire erupted in Aleppo and Turkey accused regime forces of breaking a truce agreed less than a day before. The regime’s television said opposition shelling killed six people.
There were clashes on the ground later in the day, with opposition fighters saying they launched an attack against regime forces using suicide car bombs.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein, said he was appalled that the deal appeared to have collapsed. “While the reasons for the breakdown in the cease-fire are disputed, the resumption of extremely heavy bombardment by the regime forces and their allies on an area packed with civilians is almost certainly a violation of international law and most likely constitutes war crimes,” he added.
There was no immediate indication when the evacuation of civilians and fighters might take place but a pro-opposition TV station said it could be delayed until Thursday.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed in a phone call to make a joint effort to start the process, Turkish presidential sources said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov predicted that opposition resistance in Aleppo would last no more than two or three days. Moscow said the opposition now controlled an enclave of only 2.5 square km. Turkey, Russia and Iran will hold a meeting in Moscow on Dec. 27 to try to find a solution to the five-year conflict, Ankara said on Wednesday.
In a separate development, a US general said Daesh possibly seized air-defense weapons when they recaptured Palmyra. It adds a potential complication to the coalition’s air war, he said.
Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, who commands the US-led coalition bombing Daesh in Iraq and Syria, said terrorists seized a trove of gear when they retook the desert city.
“We believe that includes some armored vehicles and various guns and other heavy weapons, possibly some air-defense equipment,” Townsend said in a video briefing from Baghdad.

Source: Arab News