Secretary Kerry condemns use of barrel bombs against Aleppo

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry condemned the Syrian regime's use of barrel bombs against Aleppo following a series of aggressive attacks in a period of several days that killed approximately 90 people.

In Kerry's statement on Tuesday, he called the Bashar al-Assad regime's barrel bomb attacks on Aleppo "the latest barbaric act of a regime that has committed organized, wholesale torture, used chemical weapons, and is starving whole communities by blocking delivery of food to Syrian civilians in urgent need." Such attacks by the Syrian government "reminds the world of its true colors," Kerry reprimanded.

"Now, with air raids killing dozens more civilians in just the past few days, destroying apartment buildings, and barrel bombs striking a mosque today, the staggering civilian toll dramatically climbs. Each and every barrel bomb filled with metal shrapnel and fuel launched against innocent Syrians underscores the barbarity of a regime that has turned its country into a super magnet for terror. Given this horrific legacy, the Syrian people would never accept as legitimate a government including Asad."

Kerry drew a distinction between the Geneva II peace process' focus on ending the conflict and the regime's determination to inflict "further destruction to strengthen its hand on the battlefield and undermining hopes for the success of the Geneva II process."

[State Department]