Secretary-General Appalled by Military Escalation in Aleppo, Syria

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General is appalled by the chilling military escalation in the city of Aleppo, which is facing the most sustained and intense bombardment since the start of the Syrian conflict.

Since the announcement two days ago by the Syrian Army of an offensive to capture eastern Aleppo, there have been repeated reports of air strikes involving the use of incendiary weapons and advanced munitions such as bunker buster bombs.  The Secretary-General underlines that the apparent systematic use of these types of indiscriminate weapons in densely populated areas may amount to war crimes.

The Secretary-General considers this a dark day for the global commitment to protect civilians.  The international community has to unite to send a clear message that it will not tolerate the use of indiscriminate and ever more deadly and powerful weapons against civilians and civilian infrastructure.