DHAKA: Syrian army jets have launched at least 100 air raids on rebel-held eastern Aleppo, killing 26 people, since the government announced a new push on the city.

The rescue workers came up with this assertion.

The military, which is backed by the Russian air force, said late on Thursday (September 22) that it was starting a new operation against the rebel-held east, which is home to at least 250,000 people and has been battered by bombing raids for months.

At least 15 Aleppo neighborhoods were targeted and the relentless bombardment was hampering the ability of rescue workers to help civilians caught up in the fighting, Al-Jazeera reported.

Two centers for a volunteer rescue group known as the White Helmets were damaged in the raids.

“We have four centers in eastern Aleppo. The aircraft targeted three centers. Two of them are now out of service,” Abdul Rahman al-Hassani of the White Helmets said.

He added that five vehicles belonging to the White Helmets were destroyed, including an ambulance.

“Our centers were the direct target,” al-Hassani said.

The White Helmets group has been named as one of the winners of an award often called "the alternative Nobel prize".

The Right Livelihood Award Foundation cited the White Helmets, also known as Syria Civil Defense, for “outstanding bravery, compassion and humanitarian engagement in rescuing civilians.”
 
BDST: 1816 HRS, SEP 23, 2016
NJ/BD