Beirut/London - The US believes Russian warplanes were responsible for the attack on a UN aid convoy operated by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, officials told CNN on Tuesday night.
The bombing was initially blamed on either Russia or Syria's Assad regime. Both have denied their planes carried out the strike, but the US has reportedly reached the "preliminary conclusion" that two Russian Su-24 jets were responsible, based on the timing and location of the attack.
The Russian Defence Ministry said its intelligence services had studied drone footage from the incident, and did not see evidence of munitions hitting the convoy. The damage inficted on the trucks was "the direct result of the cargo catching fire, which mysteriously began at the same time as a large scale rebel attack on Aleppo,” Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. A section of the Russian footage was also released, which Mr Konashenkov said "clearly shows" rebels driving a pick-up truck and a mortar, using the convoy as cover.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) has condemned the air strike that killed around 20 humanitarian volunteers and one staff member, calling it “totally unacceptable”. The convoy was delivering aid supplies to Uram al-Kubra, west of Aleppo city, when it was struck on Monday night. At least 18 of the 31 trucks in the convoy were hit in the strike.
The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon described the incident as "sickening, savage and apparently deliberate". Mr Ban said the UN had suspended its aid convoys following the attack. Speaking to world leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York, he said: "The humanitarians delivering life-saving aid were heroes. Those who bombed them were cowards.“
The US Secretary of State John Kerry - who personally negotiated the truce during months of intensive diplomacy with Russia - earlier spoke about the crumbling ceasefire after emerging alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov from a meeting of foreign ministers of 20 countries, gathered to discuss Syria in New York on Tuesday. He insisted then that the ceasefire was “not dead”.
The United Nations peace envoy, Staffan Mistura, said the ceasefire was in effect until its co-sponsors Moscow and Washington declared it over, and neither had done so at Tuesday's meeting. The US State Department said the ministers agreed at the meeting of the International Syria Support Group to continue pursuing the ceasefire under the US-Russian plan. Syria's army had declared the initial ceasefire period over on Monday, hours before the attack on the convoy which has been widely condemned.
“Failing to respect and protect humanitarian workers and structures might have serious repercussions on ongoing humanitarian operations in the country, hence depriving millions of people from aid essential to their survival,” Peter Maurer, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President said in a statement on Tuesday. “The Red Cross and Red Crescent is in mourning.”
A Red Crescent warehouse and health clinic were seriously damaged, and aid supplies for thousands of people were destroyed. A video from volunteer rescue group the Syrian Civil Defence, or the White Helmets, shows several vehicles and buildings on fire as ambulances arrive at the scene.
The UN humanitarian aid agency has said all planned aid drops in Syria have been suspended in the wake of the attack. UN humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien said that all warring parties had been notified about the convoy, which was carrying aid for about 78,000 people, and warned that if the volunteers and aid workers were deliberately targeted “it would amount to a war crime”.
The attack comes as the seven-day ceasefire in the Syrian civil war expires. The truce between the Syrian opposition and government forces has already been severely tested by multiple violations, including President Bashar al-Assad's refusal to let aid enter Aleppo as per the terms of the deal.
The Uram al-Kubra convoy was the first to be granted permission to proceed after six days of delays. The area has not received humanitarian supplies since July 2015.
US officials acknowledged there may no longer be any agreement left to salvage after the convoy attack. If the truce is abandoned, it would most likely wreck the last hope of any breakthrough on Syria before the administration of President Barack Obama leaves office in January. A senior Obama administration official said of the ceasefire: “We don't know if it can be salvaged”. The official, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity, added: “At this point the Russians have to demonstrate very quickly their seriousness of purpose because otherwise there will be nothing to extend and nothing to salvage.”
Elsewhere at least 20 civilians, including a one-year-old girl, were killed in fresh air strikes on rebel-held parts of Aleppo city and surrounding areas on Monday, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Russia said government positions in southwest Aleppo came under attack from militant groups, including a massive barrage of rockets. The week-old ceasefire had brought a brief respite to at least some parts the war-torn country.
Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said that all members of the International Syria Support Group backed continued efforts by the US and Russia to adhere to the original ceasefire deal, and that the group will meet again to discuss the matter further.
The Independent