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At least 26 killed in Aleppo as United Nations meets over Syria

At least 26 civilians were killed in fresh government airstrikes on the contested city of Aleppo, Syrian activists said Sunday, as the United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting on the spiralling violence in Syria.

UN accused Syria of unleashing 'unprecedented military violence' against civilians in Aleppo.

Men evacuate children from a building after an airstirke in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan town in Idlib province, Syria, on Sunday. (Khalil Ashawi/Reuters)

At least 26 civilians were killed in fresh government airstrikes on the contested city of Aleppo, Syrian activists said Sunday, as the United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting on the spiralling violence in Syria.

At the start of that meeting the UN's top envoy to Syria accused the government of unleashing "unprecedented military violence" against civilians in Aleppo.

Staffan de Mistura said Syria's declaration of a military offensive to retake rebel-held eastern Aleppo has led to one of the worst weeks of the 5 1/2-year war with dozens of airstrikes against residential areas and buildings causing scores of civilian deaths.

He said the offensive targeting civilians with sophisticated weapons including incendiary devices may amount to war crimes.

Medical workers and local officials reported airstrikes on neighbourhoods throughout Aleppo's rebel-held eastern districts as an announced government offensive entered its fourth day.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 26 civilians had been killed by 7:30 p.m. and said it expects the toll to rise.

People inspect a site hit by an airstrike in Maaret al-Numan town on Sunday. (Khalil Ashawi/Reuters)

Ibrahim Alhaj of the Syrian Civil Defence search and rescue outfit said hospitals and rescuers have documented the deaths of 43 people so far.

Hospitals overwhelmed

Hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties and medical workers are expecting many of the wounded to die from a lack of treatment, according to Mohammad Zein Khandaqani, a member of the Medical Council, which oversees medical affairs in the city's opposition quarters.

"I've never seen so many people dying in once place," he said from a hospital in the city. "It's terrifying today. In less than one hour the Russian planes have killed more than 50 people and injured more than 200."

United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said the Syrian government's offensive targeting civilians with sophisticated weapons including incendiary devices may amount to war crimes. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

The Observatory, which relies on a network of contacts inside Syria, said earlier in the day that 213 civilians have been killed by airstrikes and shelling on opposition areas in and around Aleppo since a U.S.-Russian brokered cease-fire collapsed Monday evening.

De Mistura, at the Security Council meeting, warned that if the Syrian government is intent on taking Aleppo, it is going to be "a grinding"; a street-by-street fight where all the infrastructure in the city will be destroyed, but it won't lead to victory.

"A so-called military solution is impossible, including in Aleppo," he stressed.

He urged the United States and Russia to go "that extra mile" and save the Sept. 9 cessation of hostilities agreement "at the 11th hour."

'War crime,' says UN chief

On the sidelines of the meeting, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the Security Council to force a halt to the hostilities in Aleppo, and he condemned Russia and the Syrian government's alleged use of bunker busting bombs, which are designed to penetrate underground facilities.

A destroyed ambulance is seen Friday outside the Syrian Civil Defense main centre after airstrikes in the Ansari neighborhood in the rebel-held part of eastern Aleppo, Syria. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets/Associated Press)

"Let us remember: The fighting has forced hospitals and schools to operate in basements. These bombs are not busting bunkers, they are demolishing ordinary people looking for any last refuge of safety," Ban said.

"International law is clear: The systematic use of indiscriminate weapons in densely populated areas is a war crime," he said.

Prior to the start of the UN meeting, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Russia should be investigated for war crimes following a Monday attack on a Syrian aid convoy that claimed 20 lives.

Johnson said that Russia's air force may have deliberately targeted the civilian convoy on Sept. 19. Russia denies involvement and instead suggests Syrian rebels or a U.S. drone were responsible.

Members of the Civil Defense group and residents inspect damaged buildings after airstrikes hit the Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood in Aleppo, Syria, on Sunday. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets/Associated Press)

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Russia and Iran will be guilty of war crimes if they don't pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to stop escalating violence.

Ayrault said the emergency Security Council meeting Sunday is a "moment of truth" for the UN.

The meeting was requested by the United States, Britain, and France, as pro-government forces extend their bombardment of the contested city of Aleppo. They are widely believed to be accompanied by Russian air strikes.

Rebels meanwhile shelled Masyaf, a government stronghold near the central city of Hama, for the second day in a row, according to the Observatory.

Masyaf is home to a large number of Alawites, members of Assad's sect. Assad has rallied Syria's minorities behind his government behind fears of the Sunni-dominated rebellion.

Syrian rebels call UN talks 'meaningless'

The U.S., Britain, and France are aligned on the Security Council against Russia and China, which back Assad in the country's protracted war, now in its sixth year.

The UN's chief, Ban ki Moon, heavily condemned Russia and the Syrian government's alleged use of bunker busting bombs, which are designed to penetrate underground facilities. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets/Associated Press)

But a broad coalition of Syrian rebels denounced international negotiations for peace as "meaningless," earlier Sunday.

The statement released jointly by 33 factions called on the government and Russian forces to halt airstrikes and lift sieges on opposition areas. The UN estimates 600,000 Syrians are trapped in various sieges enforced by the government, rebels, and ISIS across the country.

"Negotiations under the present conditions are no longer useful and are meaningless," the statement said.

The factions said they would not accept to have Russia mediate any negotiations, calling it a "partner to the regime in the crimes against our people."

The statement was signed by some of the largest factions from across Syria but did not include the powerful, ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham nor the al-Qaida-linked Fatah Sham Front.