Raids hit hospitals, schools

Syria's government pounded rebel-held Aleppo with air strikes and artillery fire yesterday, killing 27 people and prompting Washington to condemn the "heinous actions" of Damascus and its ally Russia.

UN officials said they were "appalled" by escalating violence and urged access to east Aleppo, where more than 250,000 people have been under siege for nearly four months.

Since it began on Tuesday, the assault on the rebel-held east of Aleppo has damaged hospitals, forced schools to close, and killed nearly 100 civilians, according to a monitor.

An AFP correspondent described relentless bombardment with air strikes, mortar rounds and barrel bombs slamming into residential neighbourhoods where residents cowered at home.

"It is a catastrophic day in besieged Aleppo with unprecedented bombardment with every type of weapon," a member of the White Helmets rescue group said in a video posted on the organisation's Facebook page.

Moscow says it is not involved in the current assault on Aleppo, concentrating its firepower on opposition and jihadist forces in neighbouring Idlib instead.

The relentless bombardment forced schools in east Aleppo, many of which already operate from basements because of government attacks, to close Saturday and Sunday.

Hospitals and rescue facilities have been particularly affected, with shelling destroying one of the last medical facilities in the east on Friday. Staff were also forced to evacuate the east's only children's hospital because of repeated attacks, removing babies from incubators to transfer them.