Syria's Aleppo dragged deeper into violence
BEIRUT — A maternity hospital in a government-held section of Aleppo was struck by rocket fire Tuesday as battles killed 20 people and dragged the contested city in northern Syria deeper into chaos for a 12th straight day.
The new bloodshed came as the diplomatic focus moved to Moscow, where the U.N. envoy for Syria raced to restore a partial cease-fire in the civil war that would include Aleppo.
Tuesday’s attack on the Dubeet hospital in the government-held central Muhafaza neighborhood that killed four people echoed an air strike on a hospital on the rebel-held side of the city that killed about 50 civilians nearly a week ago.
Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi warned rebels they would face harsh retaliation for shelling civilian areas, saying the government’s “patience is running out, and if they don’t stop targeting civilians in the coming hours ... they will pay a high price.”
Direct clashes between government and rebel forces on Aleppo’s outskirts accompanied the shelling inside, foreshadowing a full-scale conflict unless a cease-fire is negotiated.
An opposition media activist outside Aleppo said rebels were waging a counteroffensive against pro-government forces on the western side of the city.