Syrian regime barrel bombs kill 45 in Aleppo

ALEPPO

At least 45 people lost their lives late Wednesday in Syrian regime barrel bomb attacks in Aleppo, Syrian Civil Defense officials told Anadolu Agency.

Civil Defense teams rushed to al-Mashhad neighborhood in Aleppo to look for victims stuck under collapsed buildings. The injured were taken to field hospitals for treatment.

Aleppo’s opposition-held neighborhoods have been targeted by regime air forces, damaging infrastructure and leaving many residents without water and electricity.

The Syria conflict began in 2011 when the regime of Bashar al-Assad responded with unexpected ferocity to popular protests that erupted as part of the Arab Spring uprisings.

More than four years of intense fighting has left the country divided between pro-Assad forces and a number of heavily armed opposition factions, which are often at odds among themselves.

Roughly half of the country’s population has been displaced by the violence, with over four million Syrians now seeking refuge in neighboring countries, especially Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.

More than 250,000 people have died in the Syrian conflict, and millions more have been displaced, according to the UN.