UN suspends all aid convoy movements in Syria

UN humanitarian aid spokesman Jens Laerke said: “As an immediate security measure, other convoy movements in Syria have been suspended for the time being, pending further assessment of the security situation.” He said the UN had only recently received permission from the Syrian government to deliver aid to besieged areas of the country. Eighteen of the 31 lorries, containing wheat, winter clothes and medical supplies for about 80,000 civilians stranded in war-stricken areas, were destroyed on Monday. The attack left at least 12 dead including Aleppo director for the Syrian Red Crescent Omar Barakat and several volunteers. No party has claimed responsibility for the attack, pro-rebel groups rushed to blame the incident on government forces, claiming it was either a Syrian or a Russian warplane that carried out the strike. However, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said the attacks were carried out by either Syrian or Russian aircraft. Meanwhile the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, has described the attack as a ‘flagrant violation of international humanitarian law’. In a statement issued by the US State Department, spokesman John Kirby said the US was “outraged” at the attack, stopping short of blaming any country in particular, but adding that “the destination of this convoy was known to the Syrian regime and the Russian Federation and yet these aid workers were killed in their attempt to provide relief to the Syrian people.” Source: BBC, Guardian, RT