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UN: Syria Regime Air Force Had Bombed Humanitarian Convoy in Aleppo | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Residents walk near damaged buildings in the rebel held area of Old Aleppo, Syria May 5, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail


Syrian regime air forces “deliberately” bombed and shelled a humanitarian convoy, killing 14 aid workers and halting relief operations, UN investigators said on Wednesday.

Syrian and Russian forces conducted daily air strikes on rebel-held eastern Aleppo between July and its fall on December 22, killing hundreds and destroying hospitals, they said in their latest report.

Orphanages, schools and homes were “all but obliterated”, panel chairman Paulo Pinheiro told a news conference.

They prevented civilians from fleeing besieged eastern Aleppo, using them as human shields – a war crime.

“The scale of what happened in Aleppo is unprecedented in the Syrian conflict. Much of Aleppo, once Syria’s biggest city and its commercial and culture center and a UNESCO World Heritage site, has been reduced to rubble,” Pinheiro said.

He called for ensuring that “those responsible for this ruinous situation one day are brought to justice”.

His team was ready to share its confidential list of suspected war criminals on all sides with a new U.N. body on Syria being set up in Geneva to prepare criminal prosecutions.

“It cannot pass without having this step toward justice, because of the great numbers of victims,” panel member Carla del Ponte said. “We are still far off.”