Dozens of civilians killed as strikes flatten residential buildings in Aleppo

PanARMENIAN.Net - Dozens of civilians were killed as air strikes flattened residential buildings in rebel-held east Aleppo Monday, October 17 despite Western warnings of sanctions against Syria and Russia over attacks on the city, Reuters reports.

Once Syria's thriving commercial hub, Aleppo has been ravaged by bombing raids and intensifying clashes as President Bashar al-Assad's forces fight to capture opposition-held parts of the city.

Russian air support of the onslaught -- which has destroyed hospitals and other civilian infrastructure -- has spurred accusations of potential war crimes and threats of punitive sanctions.

World powers are expected to follow up on Monday on last-ditch diplomatic efforts at the weekend aimed at ending the conflict, which has killed more than 300,000 people since it erupted in March 2011.

The latest air strikes on Aleppo killed 13 civilians in the rebel-held district of Marjeh, taking to 46 the number left dead in a 24-hour period, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Among them were nine children, including a 17-year-old and her newborn baby.

An AFP correspondent said White Helmets rescuers were working to pull more than a dozen people out of the rubble in the hardest-hit district of Qaterji, where the Observatory said Russian raids killed 17 civilians.

"Russian aircraft carried out a massacre in the Qaterji neighbourhood by bombing a five- or six-floor building," said ambulance driver Abu Mohamed, according to AFP.

"There are still families under the ruins. We pulled out seven or eight bodies and dozens of wounded. The hospitals are full of casualties. It's a disaster."

One of those rescued was Maarouf, a 12-year-old who had been trapped on the upper floor of a residential building that had collapsed on his legs.

A White Helmet volunteer in a crane could be seen approaching the boy, who was clad in a dust-covered shirt and wriggling in vain to get himself free.

Maarouf was extracted and his injured right leg was treated at a field hospital.

But White Helmets rescuers later emerged with a dead baby cradled in a blanket, her face caked in dust.

Both Russian and Syrian warplanes are carrying out air strikes over Aleppo in support of a major offensive by regime forces to capture rebel-held parts of the northern city.

More than 430 people have been killed in air raids and bombardment on the eastern half since the assault was announced on September 22, the Observatory said.

Another 82 people have died in rebel fire on government-held neighbourhoods in the west, said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.