The Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front continued to fight for control of the war-scarred city of Aleppo, Syria and the surrounding region, leaving one child dead and 8 other civilians injured, according to the representative.
“Tonight, militants from the international terrorist organization Jabhat al-Nusra shelled the city of Handarat and the Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood [Kurdish neighborhood in the city of Aleppo] in the province of Aleppo,” the representative said on Friday.
“Jabhat al-Nusra do not stop shelling of the Kurdish district of Sheikh Maqsood in northern Aleppo. The terrorists fire from the area of Castello shopping center, previously occupied by the moderate opposition forces,” the representative said.
Over the recent weeks, the situation in Aleppo and its neighborhoods has deteriorated, as various militant groups, including the Nusra Front, which is outlawed in Russia and many other countries, have been shelling the city in an attempt to counter the Syrian army and the Kurdish militia.
Syria has been mired in a civil war since 2011, with the Syrian army fighting numerous opposition factions and Islamic extremist groups. The conflict has led to a humanitarian disaster.
Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov relayed that Washington had asked Moscow not to conduct airstrikes against the Nusra Front, for fear that members of the “moderate opposition” could also be hit.