Syrian regime and Russian air raids kill 12 civilians

Twelve civilians were killed and dozens more injured in bombardment of the war-torn city of Aleppo and the Idlib province on Friday.

MENA

2 min read

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26 August, 2016

The airstrikes come as Russia's president agreed to ensure aid reaches citizens in Aleppo [AFP]

Russian and Syrian regime aerial bombardment on the city of Aleppo and the Idlib province killed 12 civilians and wounded dozens of others on Friday.

"Russian airstrikes hit civilian homes in the city of Hayan, north of Aleppo, killing seven civilians and wounding a dozen others," activist Mohammed al-Halabi told ��.

"The wounded were rushed to hospital as the death toll is likely to increase due to the severity of some of the injuries."

Halabi added: "Regime warplanes targeted civilians in Huraytan, north of Aleppo, with barrel bombs, killing one civilian and a member of the civil defence force, as well as wounding dozens more."

Meanwhile two civilians were killed in the province of Idlib.

"Russian air raids on the village of Efas east of Idlib killed two civilians and wounded five others," activist Mustafa Abu Mohammad told ��.

"Raids on the nearby village of al-Neirab killed one civilian and injured seven others, including women and children," Abu Mohammad added.

The airstrikes come as Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan decided on Friday to "step up" efforts to ensure humanitarian aid reaches citizens in Aleppo.

In telephone talks "the two leaders... agreed to accelerate efforts to ensure help reaches people in Aleppo," the state-run Anadolu news agency said, adding that Erdogan briefed Putin on the current Turkish operation inside Syria.

The UN had announced on Friday that only one of its aid convoy deliveries reached Syria's besieged areas this month.

The United Nations humanitarian office [OCHA] said a convoy with life-saving supplies finished its delivery Thursday to al-Waer, a besieged area of the district of Homs.

"While we welcome yesterday's convoy, the level of access to besieged areas this month is wholly unacceptable," an OCHA statement said.

The two-part delivery to Al-Waer, which included food and medical items, was "the first full completed" convoy to reach a besieged area in August, the statement added.

The initial al-Waer delivery took place on Tuesday. A total of 75,000 people were reached over the two days.

Top UN officials including envoy Staffan de Mistura have blasted Syria's warring parties in recent weeks for blocking civilians from accessing aid.

Much of the blame has been directed at Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces, who are responsible for most of the sieges of the country's 18 besieged areas.

Agencies contributed to this report