UN Releases Images of ‘Awful’ Destruction in Syria’s Aleppo

(AP) GENEVA – The UN has released satellite images showing most recent destruction of Syria’s embattled northern city of Aleppo.

Officials with the U.N.’s satellite imagery program say new pictures from rebel-held parts of Aleppo show “an awful lot of new damage” — presumably by airstrikes.

Lars Bromley of UNOSAT says the commercial images from Digital Globe, obtained by the U.N. agency through an arrangement with the U.S. State Department, show mostly “formerly blasted and blown-up areas” during Syria’s 5-1/2-year war “experiencing a great deal of additional damage.”

He told reporters on Wednesday in Geneva: “To a certain extent you’re looking at rubble being pushed around.”

The images mostly show before-and-after pictures from mid to late September showing destruction of buildings, including homes, after the breakdown of a short-lived U.S. and Russia-brokered cease-fire.

One image, dated Saturday, shows the damage to a school or athletic facility in Aleppo’s Owaija district.