Syria: World 'turning a blind eye' to carnage in Aleppo

[Anthea]

Syria conflict: World 'turning a blind eye' to carnage in Aleppo
says Medecins Sans Frontieres

The head of Medecins San Frontieres in Syria says the world is turning a blind eye to the suffering of civilians in Syria.

Key points:

More than 220 civilians have been killed in the past week
The majority of deaths are the result of government and Russian bombing
The besieged city of Daraya has been under relentless barrel bombing

In the past week more than 220 civilians have been killed as violence has increased across Syria.

The majority of deaths are the result of government and Russian bombing with 50 of the dead listed as children.

Muskilda Zancada is the Medicines san Frontieres Head of Mission for Syria. She is deeply concerned about the growing death toll in the northern city of Aleppo.

"The world is turning a blind eye to the carnage in Aleppo," Ms Zancada said.

"In the past week the doctors we support in Aleppo have reported an upsurge in attacks that are targeting civilian infrastructure.

"Where there are hospitals markets and residential areas that are still under fire and nobody is doing anything to put out the flames."

Ms Zancada said any sense of reprieve felt over the last few months is clearly over.

"We are back to the same level of brutality that existed before and this is very, very worrying. The situation is worsening even more if you can say."

Civilians lose faith in ceasefire

Weekend airstrikes on a crowded market in the north western city of Idlib killed 40 civilians, according to the UK based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

In the Idlib countryside, footage posted online showed nearly a whole family wiped out in one airstrike.

Four dead young siblings lay next to each other as their father sat in shock next to his destroyed house.

South of Damascus, the besieged city of Daraya has been under relentless barrel bombing since Friday.

Ahmad Mujahid, 24, an opposition activist in the city, said there was no longer any prospect of reviving diplomatic efforts to end the five-year-old civil war.

"The bombing with barrel bombs on Daraya resumed five days ago, people had some hope when ceasefire was announced, but the people have given up on hope since the shelling started again," Mr Mujahid said.

Regime forces have besieged Daraya since November 2013 and the UN has described the conditions inside as some of the worst in Syria, with people at risk from malnutrition due to a severe lack of food.

The first aid convoy to arrive in three years rolled into town on Friday, but there were not enough supplies for the population and the bombing resumed soon after it arrived.

"The aid we've got from the UN is enough supplies for 2,000 people, but we have 8,000 people in town, and this aid couldn't even be distributed to people because of the bombing," he said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-14/m ... ia/7510654