Russia, Syria Deny Responsibility For Attack On UN Aid Convoy

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As western media reports point the finger, Russia and Syria both deny attacking the humanitarian aid convoy near the Syrian city of Aleppo.

The UN said at least 18 trucks in a 31-vehicle convoy were destroyed late Monday as they came under attack while en route to Aleppo.

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Press TV reports:

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in a statement that the airstrike killed around 20 people including one of its staff members.

On Tuesday, Syria’s army denied bombing the aid convoy, with the official news agency SANA quoting an unidentified military source as dismissing the Western media claims.

“There is no truth to media reports that the Syrian army targeted a convoy of humanitarian aid in Aleppo province,” the source said.

Additionally, Russia’s TASS news agency carried remarks by Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, as he rejected the allegations against Moscow.

“The air forces of Russia and Syria did not conduct any strikes against the UN aid convoy in the southwestern outskirts of Aleppo,” he said.

Konashenkov further noted that the fire that tore through the aid convoy came “strangely” at the time that militants “were carrying out a large-scale attack on Aleppo.”

Russia’s defence ministry released drone footage on Tuesday which shows a pickup truck carrying militants and hauling a heavy mortar driving alongside the UN aid convoy before it was destroyed on Monday night

“There are no craters, while the vehicles have their chassis intact and they have not been severely damaged, which would have been the case from an airstrike,” Konashenkov said.

The U.N. also retreated from describing the convoy attack as ‘air strikes’ saying it did not have conclusive evidence about what had happened.

“We are not in a position to determine whether these were in fact airstrikes. We are in a position to say that the convoy was attacked,” UN humanitarian spokesman Jens Laerke said.