Stark satellite images reveal the destruction wreaked on Aleppo by intense bombing
Satellite images released by the UN on Wednesday revealed the extent of the damage the northern Syria city has experienced since a cease-fired brokered by the US and Russia fell apart and punishing Syrian and Russian airstrikes continued.
The photos come as the Syrian government accelerates its offensive against opposition-held areas, led by government troops and their allies attacking the city from the south. The UN estimates that 275,000 people are trapped in opposition-controlled areas under siege by the government of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad.
"Since the cease-fire has broken down, you certainly see an awful lot of new damage," said Lars Bromley, a research adviser at the UN's Operational Satellite Applications Program (UNOSAT), according to the Associated Press.
The new photos show extensive destruction in the rebel-held eastern portions of the city.
Hundreds of civilians and at least 100 children have been killed in recent violence, according to the UN and other advocacy groups.
The images show mostly "formerly blasted and blown-up areas" during Syria's 5-and-1/2-year war "experiencing a great deal of additional damage," Bromley said.
"To a certain extent you're looking at rubble being pushed around," he added.
Syrian government operations in Aleppo have picked up in the wake of failed cease-fire authored by the US and Russia. That cease-fire broke down in mid-September, around the time of an attack on a UN aid convoy headed to the city.
The top US military officer, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, told a Senate committee last week that he believes Russia bombed the convoy and said Syrian and Russian aircraft were in the area at the time, according to the AP. Russia and Syria have denied that they were responsible for the strike, with Russia saying the damage was caused by a cargo fire.
One official with the UN's satellite-imagery program says new pictures from rebel-held parts areas of the city show "an awful lot of new damage," presumably by airstrikes.
The release coincides with a stepped-up offensive by Syrian pro-government forces that are attacking the city from the south in a bid to penetrate its opposition-controlled areas, where the UN estimates 275,000 people are trapped in a government siege.
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