Chemical bombs continue to rain down on Aleppo, Syria

Doctors working in Syria have criticised the US for failing to act to stop barrel bombs containing chlorine gas being dropped on the city of Aleppo.

Fighting in Aleppo has intensified in recent days as rebels have penetrated a key route used by government forces in western Aleppo. Aleppo was once Syria's largest city, the last leg of the ancient Silk Road to Asia.

Reports from a hospital and a civil defense group on August 10 said chlorine gas was dropped along with barrel bombs, causing casualties. Hamza Khatib, director of Al Quds Hospital in Aleppo, said his hospital had recorded four deaths from gas poisoning and 55 injuries. Khatib said he would keep bomb fragments and the victims’ clothing for analysis.

The scene of a barrel bomb attack in the Mashhad district of Aleppo city in July.

The Syrian Civil Defense rescue force in the Zubdiyia area bordering the rebel-held city of Aleppo also said three people were killed and 22 injured after a gas tank was dropped on the city.

The Syrian government and opposition have both denied using chemical weapons. In late 2015, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed that sulfur mustard had been used for the first time in the Syrian conflict.

250,000 people are under siege by government forces in eastern Aleppo. The city has been divided between rebel and government-held areas since 2012. Syrian government forces sealed off the main road leading into rebel areas in mid-July, cutting off supply and evacuation routes.

Three hour ceasefire

On August 10, Russia - an ally supporting the Syrian government, said that starting August 11, all sides will not engage in combat for three hours (from 10:00 to 13:00 local time) every day to allow for supply operations to the city.

However, the United Nations (UN) has called for a 48-hour ceasefire and has deemed it insufficient. A comprehensive ceasefire or a weekly ceasefire is needed to deliver aid including food and medicine that are "dangerously low" to people living in the besieged city. Repairing water and electricity facilities is also an urgent task.

Doctors' letter to the US President

In a letter to the US President, doctors present in the areas bordering eastern Aleppo accused the US of failing to act to prevent the continuous atrocities occurring in this city.

“Unless a permanent lifeline to Aleppo is opened, it will only be a matter of time before we are besieged by government troops, famine continues and hospital supplies run out,” the letter reads. But the doctors have not seen “any effort from the US to lift the siege or even use its influence to pressure the parties to protect civilians.”

Last month, four primary health centers and blood banks in Aleppo were hit by airstrikes in a single day. Doctors said there were a total of 42 attacks on medical facilities in Syria in July, including 15 on the hospitals where they work./.

According to VOV