Russia Vetoes U.N. Resolution on Aleppo

Russia used its veto power on the United Nations Security Council to reject a resolution calling on Syria and Russia to halt its bombing campaign in the rebel-held area in eastern Aleppo, according to Reuters.

The French-drafted resolution, which required nine votes of the 15-member council and no vetoes, received 11 votes in favor and two abstentions. Venezuela also voted against the measure. It is the fifth time Russia has used its Security Council veto power in resolutions on Syria since the beginning of the civil war nearly six years ago.

A revised version of the text submitted by Russia did not reach the required number of votes to pass. It had eliminated the part of the resolution calling for an end to airstrikes in Aleppo.

French president Francois Hollande said that he was questioning whether he should receive Russian president Vladimir Putin when he visits the French capital next week, Reuters reported.

United States Calls for War Crimes Investigation in Syria

United States secretary of state John Kerry called for a war crimes probe into the Syrian civil war, in which hospitals, and women and children have been targeted in Russian and Syrian airstrikes, according to the New York Times.

In a statement at the U.S. Department of State on Friday, Kerry stressed that terrorizing civilians was part of the strategy of the Russian and Syrian government bombing campaign, and said that those who are responsible should be held to account for what could amount to war crimes.

The statement comes days after the suspension of peace talks between Washington and Moscow over intensified air and ground attacks by Syrian government and allied forces in Aleppo.

Any war crimes probe to be conducted by the United Nations would need the approval of the Security Council, where Russia yields veto power. China and Russia both used their veto power to deny a war crimes investigation in Syria in 2014.

Some 376 civilians have been killed in the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo by Russian and Syrian airstrikes since the end of the short-lived cease-fire brokered by the United States and Russia last month.

France’s foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Monday that it was looking for a way to launch a war crimes investigation by the International Criminal Court, according to Reuters.

Extremist Rebel Faction Joins al-Qaida-Linked Group

The extremist group Jund al-Aqsa announced that it would join the al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat Fatah al-Sham in Syria on Saturday, signaling continued infighting in one of Syria’s largest rebel groups, according to the Associated Press.

Jabhat Fatah al-Sham announced that Jund al-Aqsa would join its group in order to halt bloody infighting that has left a number of militants from the powerful Ahrar al-Sham group dead.

The decision to incorporate Jund al-Aqsa drew criticism from other militant rebel groups, who have released several statements in the wake of the announcement. Ahrar al-Sham said that it would continue its fight against Jund al-Aqsa despite its new alliance.

In July, the leader of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham said that the group was cutting its ties with al-Qaida as it sought to improve its image. Jabhat Fatah al-Sham is not considered an extremist group by most other opposition groups, and the move to incorporate Jund al-Aqsa risks alienating other rebel factions.

Recommended Reads

• Time: Syria’s White Helmets Didn’t Get the Nobel. But Their Rescue Work Continues
• The Huffington Post: The Final Collapse of Obama’s Syrian Policy
• The New York Times: Syria Provokes an American Anxiety: Is U.S. Power Really So Special?
• Radio Free Europe: Russia Warns It May Shoot Down U.S. Aircraft If They Attack Syrian Forces
• Los Angeles Times: Jordan to Allow Aid Drops to Syrians Stranded at Border