Syrian government forces gather in the largely deserted Palestinian refugee camp of Handarat, north of Aleppo, on September 24, 2016 after they captured the area following multiple Russian air strikes. (AFP/Xinhua)
DAMASCUS, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Battles continued in Aleppo on Sunday coupled with airstrikes on rebel-held areas, as Western powers dropped political barrel bombs on Russia and the Syrian government.
Several rebel factions succeeded on Sunday to retake the strategic Handarat camp for Palestinian refugees in the northern province of Aleppo, just a day after the Syrian army and Palestinian fighters wrested control over it.
Handarat, located 13 km northeast of Aleppo, has emerged as a battlefield over the past few months between the Syrian army backed by the Palestinian Liwa al-Quds on one side, and several radical rebel groups, including the Nour Addien Zinki, Nusra Front, Levant Front, and the Levant Legions.
The camp has a special importance due to its proximity to the Castello road, the main rebel supply route into rebel-held areas in the eastern part of Aleppo city.
The Castello road has been recently recaptured by the Syrian army, and taking Handarat enables the army to secure more areas around that key road, which seen several attacks by the rebels in the hope of taking it back.
Military sources in Aleppo told Xinhua that battles are still taking place in the vicinity of the camp, as part of the army's resolve to take back that camp.
Handarat is also close to the Jandoul roundabout, another intersection leading to the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo city.
Capturing Handarat will also expose several rebel-held areas in Aleppo to the fire of the Syrian army, which will further tighten the government siege on eastern Aleppo.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian and Russian warplanes continued to strike rebel-controlled areas in Aleppo on Monday.
It said 52 people were killed Monday as a result of the intensified airstrikes on rebel-controlled areas in Aleppo.
The UK-based watchdog group said the death toll could likely rise due to the high number of wounded people, and those stuck under the rubble.
The monitor group said the Syrian and Russian warplanes have intensified airstrikes against rebels over the past few days, following the end of a week-long truce, which expired last Monday without extension.
The Syrian Defense Ministry announced Thursday the commencement of a new offensive against rebel-held areas in eastern Aleppo, urging the civilians to leave immediately and the rebels to lay down their weapons.
On Friday, Syrian warplanes dropped leaflets over eastern Aleppo, renewing calls on civilians to stay away from the rebel positions and advising the rebels to surrender.
The renewed military showdown in Aleppo came just days after a Russia-U.S. brokered truce expired last Monday with no extension, due to the rising tension between Russia and the United States.
The Syrian army said in a statement that the rebels violated the week-long truce over 300 times, adding that the U.S.-led coalition struck positions of the Syrian army during the truce in Deir al-Zour, killing 90 soldiers, which was deemed by Russia as the biggest violation to the truce.
The U.S.-led attack on Syrian army positions in Deir al-Zour was the first since the coalition started operations in Syria two years ago. Washington said the attack was "unintentional," a claim totally rejected by the Syrian government.
On the international arena, superpowers exchanged accusations during an emergency Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York, casting shadows over diplomatic efforts.
Britain has accused Russia of war crimes, while the United States accused Moscow of "barbarism."
"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism. It is barbarism," The U.S. ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said.
"History will not look kindly on security council members who stay silent in the face of this carnage," she continued.
For his part, Matthew Rycroft, the UK ambassador to the UN, said "bunker-busting bombs, more suited to destroying military installations, are now destroying homes, decimating bomb shelters, crippling, maiming, killing dozens, if not hundreds."
"In short, it is difficult to deny that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes," he added.
Francois Delattre, the French ambassador to the UN, agreed with his British counter part, saying the war crimes they accused Moscow of "must not go unpunished."
The Russian envoy, Vitaly Churkin, responded with saying that the U.S. has no control over the rebels it's backing in Syria.
He accused the U.S. and other Western countries of supporting the terrorist groups in Syria.
Churkin also charged that the rebels were the ones who have undermined the U.S.-Russian deal on Syria, including the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Syria's Permanent Representative to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari asserted that the Syrian government will remain committed to combating terrorism.
He stressed that the Syrian army will recapture every inch in Syria, including the rebel-held part in eastern Aleppo.
