Security Council condemns attacks against civilians in Syria

The UN Security Council on Friday condemned attacks directed against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Syria, calling on parties to the armed conflict to take feasible steps to ensure protection of civilians.

In a press statement released here, the Security Council expressed concern at the "continued high level of violence" in Syria after hearing a briefing on recent upsurge of violence in Aleppo, Syria.

The 15-member body "expressed outrage at all attacks against civilians, as well as indiscriminate attacks, including those involving shelling and aerial bombardment, such as the use of barrel bombs, which have reportedly been extensively used in recent days in Aleppo Governorate and other areas throughout Syria, leaving many dead and injured civilians, including children," said the statement.

Aleppo, Syria's second largest city and once an economic hub, has been carved out between the rebels in the eastern part of the city and the Syrian government forces in the western part.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Saturday that Syrian helicopters dropped crude barrel bombs on the al-Sha'ar neighborhood in Aleppo, killing 12 people and injuring 15 others. And another 59 people were killed by similar bombing on the al-Bab city, which is controlled by the Islamic State (IS) militants in the countryside of Aleppo.

The council members said that parties to the armed conflict bear the primary responsibility to take all feasible steps to ensure the protection of civilians, and they also reiterated that the only sustainable solution to the current crisis in Syria is through an inclusive and Syrian-led political process.