Number of killed in Aleppo rises to 51: local source

By Halit Suleyman

ALEPPO, Syria (AA) – At least 51 civilians were killed Tuesday in regime airstrikes in Syria’s northwestern city of Aleppo, a pro-opposition Syrian civil defense official told Anadolu Agency.

Ibrahim Abu Laith said warplanes targeted civilians as they attempted to flee the Al-Myassar district to the Bab al-Nairab neighborhood in opposition-held areas of eastern Aleppo.

"Russian and regime war planes as well as the Iran, Iraq and Hezbollah militants fighting with regime forces intensively bombed the east sides of the city from the air and over land,” he said, adding that the wounded numbered as much as 150 after the attack.

Since mid-November, more than 694 civilians have been killed -- and hundreds more injured -- in regime attacks on eastern Aleppo, according to figures released by local civil defense officials.

Syrian regime forces have recently stepped up attacks on opposition-held parts of eastern Aleppo in an effort to retake the city and advance on Idlib, one of the Syrian opposition’s last strongholds.

The fierce bombardments have forced hospitals and other medical facilities in the war-battered city to cease operations while most academic activities have been completely halted.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.