Air Assault on Aleppo Continues

Activists reported more than 80 civilians dead as air raids continued on Aleppo for the eighth straight day. The Syrian government has intensified its offensive, looking to expand its power over the largely rebel-held city before peace talks begin next month in Switzerland.

Al Jazeera reports that one activist told the AP that medics were “removing people in [body] parts.”

“Activists said the air strikes were carried out by government helicopters that dropped barrel bombs, crude devices filled with explosives and fuel that are wildly inaccurate but cause massive damage on impact,” the network says.

“The bombs are explosive-filled cylinders or oil drums that are often rolled out of the back of helicopters with little attempt at striking a particular target. They are capable of causing widespread casualties and significant damage. Human rights groups have said that even if Syrian forces are targeting rebels with the bombs, they often explode in residential areas, killing civilians.”

White House Condemns Aleppo Raids

Meanwhile, NBC News reports that the Obama administration condemned Assad for the increased overhead attacks, and called on his government to respect international humanitarian law.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said that “the U.S. condemns the attacks, including the ‘indiscriminate use of SCUD missiles and barrel bombs in and around Aleppo over last week,’ adding in the statement that the Syrian government had an obligation under international humanitarian law ‘to protect the civilian population.’”

Carney added that “the United States remained committed to helping end the bloodshed in Syria and that it was imperative for Syria to reach a ‘comprehensive and durable political solution’ to the nation’s crisis.

‘The Syrian government must fulfill its November commitment to do more to facilitate the safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance, so that millions of Syrian men, women and children have access to urgently needed services.’”

Assad Says Syria Facing “Major Extremist Offensive”

AFP reports that Bashar al-Assad has said the Syrian government is facing a major offensive from Islamic extremists.

The wire quoted Syria’s state-run SANA news agency, which stated that Assad said his country is “facing a takfiri ideology,” using the term for Sunni Muslim extremists.

“This is terrorism without limits, an international scourge that could strike anywhere and anytime,” he said.

“Assad made the remarks while receiving what SANA said was a delegation of ‘academics, researchers and activists’ from Australia who had came to express ‘solidarity’ with his regime. Leading the delegates was Tim Anderson, a Sydney academic opposed to foreign intervention in Syria, according to SANA. The president also criticized Western leaders, who ‘behave with duplicity and act according to their selfish interests, without understanding the reality or nature’ of the Syrian conflict.”

Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team:

Reuters: Assad’s Secret Oil Lifeline:  Iraqi Crude from Egypt

Washington Post: In Syria, ‘Barrel Bombs’ Bring More Terror and Death to Aleppo

Reuters: Syria Issues Second Food Tender Using Iranian Credit

Washington Post: The Syrian Conflict Through the Eyes of a Slain Photographer

Al Arabiya: Britons Fighting in Syria Stripped of Nationality