UN to investigate attack on Syria convoy

NEW YORK

The United Nations announced Friday the establishment of a committee to investigate a deadly attack on its convoys in Syria last week that killed at least 18 people.

The aid convoy on Sept. 19 was attacked as it was about to enter Aleppo, where 275,000 civilians living under the shadow of bombs and airstrikes need humanitarian assistance.

The attack in Urum al-Kubra, west of Aleppo, killed the head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, as well as aid staff and drivers in a 31-truck convoy. The UN or relevant parties have yet to comment on the nature of the attack.

The Board of Inquiry "will ascertain the facts of the incident and report to the Secretary-General upon the completion of its work," the UN said in a statement. "The Secretary-General will review the report and decide what further steps to take.”

Ban Ki-moon "urges all parties concerned to cooperate fully with the Board," it added.

The attack marked a disastrous end to a weeklong truce brokered by Washington and Moscow after the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad unilaterally declared an end to the cessation of hostilities.

The regime has since been unrelenting, launching a major offensive on Aleppo days later to squeeze a military victory to the five-year-long war at the expense of unspeakable humanitarian suffering.

The war has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions, leaving Syria in ruin and its neighbors struggling with a massive refugee response.

NEW YORK

The United Nations announced Friday the establishment of a committee to investigate a deadly attack on its convoys in Syria last week that killed at least 18 people.

The aid convoy on Sept. 19 was attacked as it was about to enter Aleppo, where 275,000 civilians living under the shadow of bombs and airstrikes need humanitarian assistance.

Ban Ki-moon "urges all parties concerned to cooperate fully with the Board," it added.

The attack marked a disastrous end to a weeklong truce brokered by Washington and Moscow after the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad unilaterally declared an end to the cessation of hostilities.

The regime has since been unrelenting, launching a major offensive on Aleppo days later to squeeze a military victory to the five-year-long war at the expense of unspeakable humanitarian suffering.

The war has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions, leaving Syria in ruin and its neighbors struggling with a massive refugee response.