(Zaman Al Wasl)- The United States is working on "specific initiatives" to reduce the violence in Syria and sees stopping the bloodshed in Aleppo as a top priority, a U.S. State Department spokesman said on Saturday.
In a statement detailing calls Secretary of State John Kerry has made over the past two days with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura and with Riyad Hijab, a negotiator for Syrian opposition groups, State Department spokesman John Kirby said Kerry had made clear the United States wanted Russia to apply pressure to the Assad government to get it to stop "indiscriminate aerial attacks" in Aleppo.
"In both calls, the secretary underscored that the initial efforts to reaffirm the cessation of hostilities in Latakia and Eastern Ghouta are not limited to these two areas and that efforts to renew the cessation must and do include Aleppo," Kirby said.
Despite the carnage, Aleppo has been excluded from a fresh "freeze" in fighting brokered by the United States and Russia.
Syrian regime air force backed by Russian jets on Saturday have stepped up its aerial bombing on rebel-held neighborhoods, killing 7 civilians in al-Neirab and Bustan al-Qasr neighborhoods, local activists said.
The devastating air strikes have also hit most neighborhoods of Aleppo, including al-Kallaseh, al-Sakhour, al-Jazmati and al-Maasraniyeh.
Shelling and air raids in Aleppo over the past week have killed more than 230 civilians and pushed a landmark Feb. 27 ceasefire to the verge of collapse.
Aleppo's massacres sparked massive outrage in Syria and the World, In Beirut, Istanbul, Paris and London hundreds of people rallied in solidarity with Aleppo.
In the besieged Eastern Ghouta suburbs, people have also protested for Aleppo.
Since the conflict in Syria erupted in 2011, more than 400,000 people have been killed and millions more been forced from their homes. (With agencies)
In a statement detailing calls Secretary of State John Kerry has made over the past two days with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura and with Riyad Hijab, a negotiator for Syrian opposition groups, State Department spokesman John Kirby said Kerry had made clear the United States wanted Russia to apply pressure to the Assad government to get it to stop "indiscriminate aerial attacks" in Aleppo.
"In both calls, the secretary underscored that the initial efforts to reaffirm the cessation of hostilities in Latakia and Eastern Ghouta are not limited to these two areas and that efforts to renew the cessation must and do include Aleppo," Kirby said.
Despite the carnage, Aleppo has been excluded from a fresh "freeze" in fighting brokered by the United States and Russia.
Syrian regime air force backed by Russian jets on Saturday have stepped up its aerial bombing on rebel-held neighborhoods, killing 7 civilians in al-Neirab and Bustan al-Qasr neighborhoods, local activists said.
The devastating air strikes have also hit most neighborhoods of Aleppo, including al-Kallaseh, al-Sakhour, al-Jazmati and al-Maasraniyeh.
Shelling and air raids in Aleppo over the past week have killed more than 230 civilians and pushed a landmark Feb. 27 ceasefire to the verge of collapse.
Aleppo's massacres sparked massive outrage in Syria and the World, In Beirut, Istanbul, Paris and London hundreds of people rallied in solidarity with Aleppo.
In the besieged Eastern Ghouta suburbs, people have also protested for Aleppo.
Since the conflict in Syria erupted in 2011, more than 400,000 people have been killed and millions more been forced from their homes. (With agencies)
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