Aleppo comes under Russian attack for first time since truce

Russian warplanes yesterday launched airstrikes against a key opposition supply route near the city of Aleppo for the first time since a truce was signed at the end of February, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

“The Russian and Syrian warplanes together carried out at least 40 airstrikes on the Castello road,” the Anadolu Agency reported Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief, Rami Abdel Rahman, saying.

“They are the heaviest airstrikes there since February, and they are also the first confirmed Russian strikes since the truce began,” Abdel Rahman said.

The Castello road is a key supply route for opposition fighters leading north out of Aleppo.

Violent clashes between government and opposition forces in the city have killed at least 300 civilians over the past few months.

Earlier on Friday, Russia proposed to launch joint strikes with the US against terrorist groups in Syria, especially the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Nusra Front, Washington turned down the offer.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby said: “There is no agreement to conduct joint airstrikes with the Russians in Syria.”

“What we are discussing with our Russian counterparts … are proposals for a sustainable mechanism to better monitor and enforce the cessation of hostilities.”