Syrian Civil Defense officials of the rebel-held neighborhoods of Aleppo’s city have called on citizens to stay inside basements to avoid the regime's aerial bombardment, as Saturday’s death toll rose to over 50 people.
Civil Defense workers said at least 35 people have been killed and 30 wounded in a regime air raid on crowded local market in the Maadi neighborhood of Aleppo. The attack also destroyed five vehicles and 15 shops.
Paramedics said field hospitals were flooded with the wounded and bodies of civilians, claiming the casualties may reach 50.
Insurgents also bombarded a regime-controlled district of Aleppo’s city overnight, killing at least eight people, Syrian state media reported.
Speaking on state TV, Syria's Grand Mufti, Ahmed Badr al-Din al-Hassoun, urged the complete destruction of insurgent-held areas from which shells were being fired.
"We inform the civilians there, be they supporters (of the insurgents), or not, to leave the area. Every area from which a shell is fired, should be completely destroyed," Hassoun said, according to Reuters.
Rebel-held parts of Aleppo have faced regular air strikes by the Syrian military. A United Nations commission of enquiry on Syria has recorded the intense use of barrel bombs by government forces in the city.
Rebels have also made use of improvised shells to bombard government-held areas. So-called "hell cannons" fire shells comprising of a cooking gas cylinder. It was unclear what type of weapon had been used in their latest attack.
