Warplanes pound Syria's Aleppo ahead of diplomatic pushOctober 13, 2016 - 17:34 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian and Syrian warplanes pounded Aleppo again on Thursday, October 13 after two days of heavy bombardment that killed more than 70 civilians, as world powers prepared for last-ditch weekend talks on a ceasefire, AFP reports. Syria has been plunged into some of the worst violence of its five-year war after the collapse of a hard-won truce brokered by Washington and Moscow. The ensuing surge in fighting saw government forces declare a large-scale offensive, backed by Russian and Syrian air power, to capture the opposition-held half of battered Aleppo. More than 20 air strikes hit the rebel-controlled east at dawn on Thursday, killing seven civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. On the northeastern outskirts of the city, advancing regime troops captured several hilltops overlooking opposition-held areas. Syrian state television said four children were killed by rebel rocket fire on a school in a western regime-held neighbourhood. Moscow has come under mounting international pressure over the rising civilian death toll from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's Russian-backed campaign to take east Aleppo, including Western accusations of possible war crimes. Seven children were among 71 civilians killed in strikes and regime artillery fire on eastern districts on Tuesday and Wednesday, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. |