Assad forces kill dozens of civilians in Syria’s Aleppo

At least 32 civilians killed in attack that targeted market in al-Shaar neighbourhood in Aleppo city’s east.

Aleppo, Syria
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of people were wounded and others were trapped under the rubble [AFP]

Heavy bombardment by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have killed at least 32 civilians in the northern city of Aleppo, sources told Al Jazeera.

Rami Abdelrahman, head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that the attack on Monday targeted the al-Shaar neighbourhood in Aleppo city’s east, which is controlled by the opposition.

Abdelrahman said 18 civilians were killed, but other sources told Al Jazeera that the fatalities were as high as 32.

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“A surface-to-surface missile hit the al-Shaar neighbourhood. People started gathering, and that’s when the army fired more missiles at the same area,” Abdelrahman said.


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He said dozens of people were wounded and others were still trapped under the rubble.

Images posted online showed screaming men carrying wounded civilians from collapsing buildings.

Bomb run Aleppo

“The civil defence came here to pull people out of the rubble, put out fires and save people,” one emergency worker told the AFP news agency. 

A man standing next to a destroyed car held his head in his hands as he stared into the lobby of a partly destroyed building littered with debris.

“This is a public market and all of these people were shopping. Every time he [Assad] suffers a defeat, he takes it out on civilians,” a resident said.

Aleppo, once Syria’s economic powerhouse, has been devastated by fighting since 2012.

The city is now divided between government control in the west and opposition control in the east.

Much of Aleppo has been left in ruins as regime forces carry out aerial attacks and rebels retaliate, despite criticism of both sides from humanitarian organisations.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies