Syria conflict: US accuses Russia of 'barbarism' in Aleppo

[Playboy™]

The US ambassador to the UN has accused Russia of "barbarism" over the bombing of the Syrian city of Aleppo.

At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Samantha Power said Russia had told the council outright lies about its conduct in Syria.

She said Russia and the Syrian regime were "laying waste to what is left of an iconic Middle Eastern city".

Russia said Syrian forces were trying to remove terrorists from Aleppo while harming as few citizens as possible.

Ambassador Vitaly Churkin did not say Russian forces were involved.

The UN meeting, requested by the US, UK, and France, follows an intensification of the bombing campaign over Aleppo.

UN special envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura said at least 213 civilians had been killed since the offensive began, many of them women and children. He said the conflict had reached "new heights of horror".

Hours after the end of a week-long cessation of hostilities on Monday, the Syrian regime declared a new offensive against eastern Aleppo and jets began pounding the area, where 275,000 people are trapped. Mr Churkin said there was a humanitarian corridor by which residents could leave but it was being blocked by rebels.

Bunker busting bombs

Mr de Mistura said reports suggested Russia had used incendiary weapons in Aleppo, which he said "create fireballs of such intensity that they light up the pitch darkness in Aleppo as if it were daylight".

He said that Russia and the Syrian regime were also using so-called bunker busting bombs - designed to penetrate the earth and destroy underground targets - against residential areas.

"The systematic and indiscriminate use of such weapons in areas where civilians are present may amount to a war crime," he said.