PHOTO: Kerry and Lavrov “talked about the importance of the continued multilateral discussions in Geneva”

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TUESDAY FEATURE

The Russian Destruction of North Hama’s Last Clinic

UPDATE 0825 GMT: A Russian officer awards fighters of the pro-Assad Palestinian militia Liwa al-Quds with medals:

aleppo-liwa-al-quds

Liwa al-Quds has been vital in the Russian-regime operations to impose a siege on opposition parts of Aleppo, leading operations to claim territory near the al-Castello road north of the city.

UPDATE 0815 GMT: The UN has blamed the Assad regime, the opposition local council, and rebels for the failure to evacuate critically injured and sick people from eastern Aleppo city.

A statement from the UN’s head of humanitarian operations, Stephen O’Brien, said on Monday:

Evacuations were obstructed by various factors, including delays in receiving the necessary
approvals from local authorities in eastern Aleppo, conditions placed by non-State armed groups
and the Government of Syria’s objection to allowing medical and other relief supplies into the
eastern part of the city.

After three days of lull, parties to the conflict have still not agreed, military operations have
resumed and violence is now escalating….
I am outraged that the fate of vulnerable civilians — sick and injured people, children and the
elderly, all in need of critical and life-saving support — rests mercilessly in the hands of parties
who have consistently and unashamedly failed to put them above narrow political and military
interests.

UPDATE 0745 GMT: Defying video and witness evidence, Russia has denied resumption of bombing of Aleppo.

Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Tuesday:

Over the last seven days, flights of Russian Aerospace Defense Forces and Syrian Air Force over Aleppo were completely ceased. Aircraft do not come close to the city and do not deliver airstrikes. Six humanitarian corridors continue to work round-the-clock for peaceful civilians leaving eastern districts of Aleppo. Hot meal distribution and first medical aid outlets are open.

Konashenkov asserted that 48 women and children left eastern Aleppo on Monday night. He offered no evidence to corroborate the claim, although pro-Assad sites have photographs purporting to show the crossing to the regime-controlled area.

The Defense Ministry’s insistence on continued corridors appears to contradict the line of Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov: he told reporters on Tuesday, “Nothing of what has been required in the past three days took place, so now the issue of renewing the humanitarian pause is irrelevant.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY: US Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed his concern to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about Russia’s bombing of Syria’s largest city Aleppo.

The State Department said that Kerry called Lavrov on Monday. The two men agreed that experts from countries who met in Geneva last week, will continue the search for ways to resolve the Aleppo crisis, both the State Department and Russia’s Foreign Ministry said.

The US said earlier this month that it was suspending contacts with Moscow over Russia’s “barbarism” in the siege and attacks, alongside regime forces, on opposition areas.

However, Washington subsequently convened the meeting in Lausanne, Switzerand which included Russia as well as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, and Turkey.

Lavrov repeated Russia’s standard line that rebels must be separated from “terrorists” — even though the jihadists of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) have few fighters in eastern Aleppo city.

Using that pretext, Russia and the regime renewed bombing of Aleppo on September 19, beginning with the destruction of a UN aid convoy and continuing with the killing of more than 600 people over the next month.

Moscow declared a “pause” last Tuesday, ostensibly for “corridors” for residents and surrendering rebels to leave east Aleppo. However, Russia and the regime resumed their attacks over the weekend.

Moscow and pro-Assad forces re-imposed a siege on opposition districts in late August. Amid shortages of food and supplies, a second child reportedly died from starvation on Monday.

The Syrian air force is dropping leaflets over opposition neighborhoods warning rebels to surrender or they will be “eliminated”.

The Local Coordination Committees documented 53 deaths on Monday, including 14 women and 13 children. Russian-regime attacks on neighboring Idlib Province killed 24 of the victims.

“Humanitarian Aid Has Yet to Happen”

State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Monday.

They [Kerry and Lavrov] talked about the importance of the continued multilateral discussions in Geneva and how to try to continue to get a meaningful cessation of hostilities and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

And the delivery of humanitarian aid and assistance to the desperate people of Aleppo, which by the way, even throughout these temporary pauses over the last several days, has yet to happen.

Asked whether the multilateral talks on Syria in Geneva had made progress, Kirby said only that the dialogue was “ongoing” and he had nothing further to report.

Reports: Russia Bombs Turkish-Supported Rebels for 1st Time

Claims are circulating that Russian warplanes have bombed Turkish-supported rebels in northern Syria for the first time.

Local reports say a Russian jet fighter attacked the rebels in Tal Madiq in northern Aleppo Province, after the force captured the village from the Islamic State. At the same time, the Kurdish militia YPG attacked on the ground.

Russia has refrained from action since Turkey intervened in late August with airstrikes, tanks, and special forces alongside the rebels.

However, tension has grown as the rebel offensive near YPG lines. Turkish airstrikes targeted YPG position for the first time last week, with rebels briefly launching a ground assault along a 12-km (7.5-mile) front.

The Turkish-backed force called off an advance on YPG-held Tel Rifaat in favor of a move towards the ISIS-controlled town of al-Bab, northeast of Aleppo city. But the YPG and the Assad regime also see al-Bab as a prize as the Islamic State retreated.

Meanwhile, the US State Department has publicly cautioned Turkey over its attacks on the YPG — which leads the US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria — for the first time.

Spokesman John Kirby said:

We’re always concerned about reports of civilian casualties and the damage to civilian infrastructure as a result of military activity, particularly if that military activity is uncoordinated with other military – coalition efforts to go after Daesh [Islamic State]….

We’re continuing to watch it as closely as we can and we continue to be concerned about it