At least 51 people died in a single day of Syrian government airstrikes and shelling of opposition-controlled districts of Aleppo, activists said Feb 13. as international mediators were trying to salvage peace talks in Geneva.
Included in the dead are 13 rebels.
Britain-based Observatory of Human Rights reported most of the vistims were killed by air strikes and barrel bombs dropped on eight rebel-controlled districts on Feb. 12.
Artillery shelling, sniper fire, and clashes between the rebels and President Bashar al-Assad’s forces account for the rest of the deaths.
Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, was targeted as Assad’s forces attempted to regain control of neighbourhoods seized by rebels in 2012.
The Observatory has been documenting the Syrian conflict since 2011 through activists on the ground.
It released the report Feb. 13 before a meeting between senior U.S. and Russian officials, the Syrian government, Syrian rebel representatives and a UN mediator in Geneva.
The second round of peace negotiations began Feb. 10 in Switzerland but quickly led to accusations hurled between the Syrian government and rebels. Both sides accused the other of causing bloodshed on the ground and delegates were unable to agree on the talks’ agenda.
The Observatory reports that peace-talks have been accompanied by a rise in violence on the ground.
Since the first round of negotiations began on Jan. 22, at least 4,959 people have died in Syria. This period has seen the highest death toll since the uprising against Assad began nearly three years ago, the Observatory reports.
Photo source: Aleppo Media Centre (AMC) on Yahoo News
