Limit veto powers at UNSC

The United Nations human rights chief yesterday told Russia that air strikes on civilian targets in the Syrian city of Aleppo may amount to crimes against humanity which could be brought before the International Criminal Court as rebels claimed they had repelled a major army offensive in southern Aleppo.

High Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein said initiatives to resolve the situation in besieged, rebel-held eastern Aleppo should include proposals to limit the use of the veto by the permanent members of the UN Security Council.

This would enable major powers to refer the matter to the International Criminal Court, a step previously blocked by Russia and China.

In New York, Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin dismissed Zeid's proposal, telling reporters: "It's not his responsibility to discuss veto powers."

The development came as nations spoke of rebuilding a peace process the United States broke off this week. US Secretary of State John Kerry suspended talks with Russia on Monday, accusing Moscow of failing to live up to its commitments to halt fighting and assure aid reached besieged communities.However, Kerry said peace efforts must carry on.

Turkey, meanwhile, said it planned to make a proposal to Washington and Moscow to resurrect a ceasefire that collapsed last month.

But on the ground there was no sign of peace with potentially the biggest and most decisive battle of the five-and-a-half year war unfolding as pro-government forces sought to drive anti-Assad rebels from their last major urban stronghold.

Assad's government, with Russian air support and Iranian ground forces, launched the assault on Aleppo last month, a week into a ceasefire agreed by Washington and Moscow.

Rebels yesterday said they inflicted losses on pro-government fighters after hours of clashes on the fringe of Sheikh Saed district, at the southern edge of the rebel-held eastern half of Aleppo city.

In the 15 days since the collapse of the ceasefire, war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had documented the deaths of 293 civilians in besieged east Aleppo as a result of air strikes and shelling, including 20 yesterday. It has documented 25 deaths in government-held west Aleppo from rebel shelling during the 15 days.

Moscow said it had deployed the advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to Syria for the first time to protect its base at Tartous, Russia's only sea base on the Mediterranean.

In addition to operating a naval facility in Tartus, Russia runs an air base outside the Syrian coastal city of Latakia, which currently houses war planes used in Moscow's bombing campaign in support of long-time ally Bashar al-Assad.

The Hmeimim air base already has an S-400 air defence system, the most modern in Russia's arsenal.